After his victory in the Ryanair Chase on Thursday afternoon, Protektorat has been priced up at 8/1 to retain his crown at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
Protektorat headed into the race without a victory since November 2022, whilst he also hadn't tasted victory on his last five visits to Prestbury Park.
After finishing third and fifth in the last two Gold Cups, Dan Skelton opted for the Ryanair route and the decision paid dividends as Protektorat was first home ahead of an impressive field.
The nine-year-old finished ahead of last winner's Envoi Allen, who had to settle for second this time around, with Conflated and Capodanno finishing third and fourth.
Victory in next year's renewal would see Protektorat join an elite club alongside Albertas Run and Allaho as the only horses to have won the Ryanair Chase in successive years.
The win was also the second win of the day for Sir Alex Ferguson after Monmiral was a surprise 25/1 winner of the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
2025 Ryanair Chase odds
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