Albertas primed for Ryanair

Jonjo O'Neill reports Albertas Run to be "bang on target" for a hat-trick bid in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.

Trevor Hemmings' gelding hasn't been out since winning the Monet's Garden Old Roan Chase at Aintree in October but the trainer is pleased with his progress.

"He won at Liverpool and then got a bit of a suspensory problem and has been off ever since. It's been a long slow programme but everything has gone according to plan and he's bang on target. Hopefully I can just get him there on the day now," he told sportinglife.com.

"Preparations are going very well, he's in great form and did a lovely piece of work last week and we're very happy with him. Obviously he's a year older which makes it a bit tougher but he's been there and done it before and whatever beats him will know they've had a race."

Albertas Run has landed the last two renewals of the Ryanair Chase and the trainer feels a combination of factors make the race perfect for him.

"It just seems to be the right trip for him, AP (McCoy) gets on really well with him and the horse loves Cheltenham and this time of year. As long as he keeps doing that I'm very happy," he added.