Allaho back at Thurles to try and cement his status as Ryanair Chase favourite

Allaho will once again use Sunday’s Grade Two highlight at Thurles to prepare for more potential Ryanair glory at Cheltenham in March.

The Willie Mullins-trained star landed the Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase in both 2021 and 2022 en route to spectacular performances at the festival.

A spleen injury ruled him out of action last season, but he is a general 11-4 favourite to pull off an unprecedented Ryanair hat-trick in just over seven weeks’ time.

Allaho is back on familiar territory having finished a tired third to Hewick in the King George at Kempton over Christmas, where three miles appeared several steps further than ideal.

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Dropping back half a mile for a race still widely referred to as the ‘Kinloch Brae’ should suit him, although the six-runner race hardly shapes as any kind of mere ‘warm-up’.

For one thing there is the current Ryanair champion Envoi Allen – also in Cheveley Park colours – although on official weights and ratings he has a significant mountain to climb.

French Dynamite represents Robcour but a trio of stable companions could present Allaho with real problems too.

Not surprisingly, Paul Townend has chosen Allaho but Appreciate It is a real talent at his best, while Capodanno supplies an intriguing link to the Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs.

The JP McManus-owned runner belied 80-1 odds to fail by just a head in overhauling Gerri Colombe for the runner-up spot in what proved a standout Savills Chase performance by Galopin Des Champs over Christmas.

That represented a return to something like the form that saw Capodanno impressively secure Grade One honours as a novice in 2022.

Should Capodanno progress again from that, Allaho would need to be back to something like his best to establish superiority over his youngest rival in a race that over the last decade has also produced a pair of Gold Cup heroes in Don Cossack and Sizing John.

Hauturiere’s superiority at Limerick over Christmas was unarguable and she should be up to following that up in Sunday’s Grade Two Mares’ event.

David Christie brings Ferns Lock back to Thurles to try and repeat his 2023 success in the Hunters’ Chase.

Similar ground conditions to last year should help the classy sort who was edged out by Its On The Line at Down Royal on St Stephen’s Day.

The pair top betting lists for Cheltenham’s Hunters’ championship and a repeat of his 20-length demolition of Billaway a year ago should make Ferns Lock hard to beat.

Gavin Cromwell’s Sunday commitments stretch between Thurles and Lingfield where he runs both Only By Night and King Of Prs at the Surrey track’s winter festival.

Back home he gives Law Ella a crack at Hauturiere & Co in the big mares’ chase and pitches Ahead Of The Posse into handicap company for the first time over fences. Conor Stone-Walsh takes 5lbs off the horse who will sport first-time cheekpieces and is stretched out in trip.