Tag: Chester

Chester Preview – Friday 8th May

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Betcirca followers were in profit for the second consecutive day at Chester with wins for Collaboration (9-4), Hans Holbein (5-2) and Navigate (10-1).

Aidan O’Brien has mopped up the first two classic trials of the week in the Cheshire Oaks and Chester Vase. He now sets his sights on the Dee Stakes on Friday where he is represented by Smuggler’s Cove. He has much the best two-year-old form having finished third to Belardo in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes.

He had previously won at Dundalk by seven lengths to earn his trip to Newmarket. He is by Fastnet Rock out of a Sadler’s Wells mare and has an extra three furlongs to travel here. The race has been hit by non-runners due to the give in the ground and it could develop into a very tactical affair. Ryan Moore rides Smuggler’s Cove with main market rival Disegno to be partnered by Ted Durcan.

Sir Michael Stoute’s colt also had decent form as a juvenile and was a fair third to Golden Horn first time out this season. He looked very short of pace that day and that could count against him on this tight track.

The feature race of the day is the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at 3.10 and conditions have come right for Marco Botti’s Tac de Boistron. The grey has won nine races in his career, all on soft or heavy ground. He has also won after a lengthy lay-off in the past so fitness is unlikely to be an issue. He has a very high cruising speed and is preferred to the consistent Windshear.

The opening seven-furlong handicap looks wide open. One Word More won well for Tim Easterby last time but I’m put off by his draw in stall ten. He usually comes from off the pace and a slow start here would virtually put him out of it.

Alejandro just gets my vote, although the concern with him is the ground. He has not won on soft ground, although he has run some decent races on it. He ran well for a long way at Haydock first time out when fourth to Emell. The winner was very unlucky not to follow up under a penalty next time so Alejandro clearly met a horse in peak form that day.

Alejandro 2.10 @8-1 Betfair

Smuggler’s Cove 2.40 @6-4 Coral

Tac de Boistron 3.10 @2-1 Bet365

Chester Preview – Thursday 7th May

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Rah Rah (2-1) and Not Never (11-1) gave us a profit on the opening day of the Chester May meeting. Quick Jack was just run out of it in the Chester Cup by Trip To Paris, ironically the horse that I had deserted due to the rain softened ground.

Thursday’s card looks equally competitive and the action begins at 2.10 with a mile and a quarter handicap. Andrew Balding’s Collaboration did us a favour when winning the City & Suburban Handicap at Epsom last time and is difficult to oppose, despite a hefty rise in the weights. He was always travelling well that day and was going further clear at the finish.

The Huxley Stakes at 2.40 looks wide open with some progressive horses entered. Cannock Chase may just have needed his first run of the season at Sandown in the Gordon Richards Stakes. Relatively few of Sir Michael Stoute’s horses have proved fit enough to win first time out. He is just preferred to Air Pilot who went through the handicap last season.

Hans Holbein can add another string to the bow of Aidan O’Brien in the Chester Vase as he plans his raiding party for the Epsom Derby next month. He has already shown that stamina is his strength and the opposition here is pretty weak for a Group 3.

Goring may be worth supporting in the seven furlong handicap after winning cosily last time out. He had previously been disqualified after a banned substance was found in his sample. Stoute’s Pleiades was beaten a long way last time and 6-1 or thereabouts looks good value for Eve Johnson Houghton’s runner.

Raj To Riches has just been caught in his first two races and should be suited by this faster track. He can use his early speed to put his rivals under pressure and get off the mark at the third time of asking. The six-furlong handicap which follows looks particularly tricky and I’m going to give another chance to Navigate. Martyn Meade’s colt showed plenty of early speed at Newmarket last time and this looks an easier contest.

The card closes with another very competitive race and the vote just goes to Empress Ali. She has run three times previously at the Roodeye, returning the form figures 2, 2, 1. Tom Tate may well have targeted this meeting for her seasonal reappearance and she is well drawn in stall 4.

Collaboration 2.10 @9-4 Bet365

Cannock Chase 2.40 @15-8 William Hill

Hans Holbein 3.10 @5-2 Racebets

Goring 3.45 @6-1 Bet365

Raj To Riches 4.20 @5-2 Bet365

Navigate 4.55 @9-1 William Hill

Empress Ali 5.25 @7-1 William Hill

Chester Preview – Wednesday 6th May

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Chester races gets under way on Wednesday with a seven-race card starting at 2.10 with the Lily Agnes Stakes. This race usually sets the tone for the rest of the week with the winner invariably coming from a low draw and I fancy Mark Johnston’s Rah Rah to do exactly that.

She is a speedy daughter of Lonhro and I liked the way she strode clear of Anwar at Kempton on her debut. Silver Wings has the inside berth and is likely to make a race of it while Astley Hall did everything wrong on his debut but still managed to win.

The going has eased with the midweek rain and that could benefit Michael Bell’s filly Banzari in the Cheshire Oaks. She was pulled out of the Pretty Polly Stakes on Sunday due to the fast ground and the move could pay off here. I was impressed with Victoria Pollard’s debut win at Newbury for Andrew Balding but they finished in a bit of a heap so she still has something to prove.

We have previewed the Chester Cup separately and expect a big run from Quick Jack under Richard Hughes. The rain has arrived in time so my biggest concern is whether Hughes will be able to navigate his way through this big field. The horse has run well in a County Hurdle and a Cesarewitch so is battle-hardened and just needs a bit of luck in running.

B Fifty Two will be a popular fancy to make all under Frankie Dettori in the sprint at 3.45. I just felt that he didn’t quite do enough last time out to suggest that he was at his peak and prefer the claims of Blithe Spirit. She is a course winner and ran a fine race against Spinatrix at Nottingham.

Sir Isaac Newton is difficult to oppose in the maiden at 4.20 having been edged out by Derby hope Zawraq on his debut. He is still entered in the Derby and a host of other top races so will need to win this if he is in that class.

Robert Cowell has his usual impressive team of sprinters and he saddles Duke Of Firenze and Normal Equilibrium on the 4.55. The former won the Epsom Dash when trained by Sir Michael Stoute but has been largely frustrating since and I’m siding with the proven recent form of Normal Equilibrium. He’s won around here before and has drawn stall one.

The final race of the card is a fascinating mile and a half handicap for three-year-olds. These races are all about potential at this stage of the season and Not Never has bags of that. He battled on gamely to win his maiden for Hugo Palmer and the stable are in excellent form at present.

Rah Rah 2.10 @4.50 Betfair

Banzari 2.40 @9-1 Boylesports

Quick Jack 3.10 @6-1 Stan James

Blithe Spirit 3.45 @5-1 Paddy Power

Sir Isaac Newton 4.20 @2-5 Betfair

Normal Equilibrium 4.55 @11-4 Betfair

Not Never 5.25 @7-1 Bet365

Chester Cup Preview

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The Chester May meeting will always be one of my favourite festivals of the flat racing season. The tight track always provides thrilling racing along with more than its fair share of hard luck stories. This was the venue for Shergar’s stunning victory which set him on course for the Epsom Derby and his place in history. We will be previewing each day’s racing in detail as the classic trials unfold but the feature race of the week is still the Chester Cup.

A maximum of seventeen runners will embark on the two and a quarter mile trip with the usual mixture of seasoned campaigners and up-and-coming stayers. Last year’s finish was dominated by Dr Marwan Koukash with his horse’s finishing first and second. Jamie Spencer was guilty of playing his hand too soon on Angel Gabrial and was cut down close home by Ryan Moore on Suegioo.

Consolation came in the Northumberland Plate for the runner-up and he has been tried in a higher grade since. He is not a particularly big horse and I can’t see him shouldering his big weight successfully this year. He is 15lbs higher in the handicap while Suegioo enjoys a 10lbs pull for three and half lengths from Newcastle. I certainly wouldn’t rule out Marco Botti’s charge after a gentle warm-up race at Ripon.

The one that catches the eye is Quick Jack, trained by Tony Martin in Ireland. He has been favourite for a string of big handicaps on the flat and over jumps over the past 18 months. His trainer has chosen very carefully and has been rewarded with a victory at Galway and two fine placed efforts at Newmarket and Cheltenham.

He was unlucky not to win the Cesarewitch when beaten only three-quarters of a length into third behind Big Easy. Richard Hughes was on board that day and hit the front with a furlong to run. Don’t expect to see him until very late on here and much will depend on whether Hughes can weave his way through the field. There is a lot of rain forecast over the next couple of days and connections will be hoping that some of it falls on the Roodeye.

Mubaraza was favourite last year but failed to quicken in the home straight and finished fourth. Ed Dunlop also runs Trip To Paris who is on a hat-trick under Graham Lee. He stepped up to two miles for the first time at Ripon and beat Gabrial’s King decisively. The runner-up did not get a clear run up the straight but would not have beaten Trip To Paris. If the going stays on the quick side, he could be worth a saver.

Quick Jack 3.10 Chester Wednesday @6-1 Stan James

Racing Preview Aug 30th

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Time Test was a very impressive winner at Sandown on Friday and looks set to be upped in class by Roger Charlton. It looked more of a staying performance to me rather than a Guineas prospect but I’m not ready to invest in the ante-post market just yet.

Saturday’s racing action opens with an impossible sprint handicap at Sandown before some more promising two-year-olds line up for the Solario Stakes. This doesn’t look like a strong renewal and Aktabantay looks vulnerable to something with a bit more scope. Future Empire fits the bill after knuckling down well to his task when beating subsequent winner Invincible Gold at Newmarket.

Godolphin has yet to win a Group 1 race this season, something that they will surely put right before long. I’m hoping to see the blue colours dominate on Saturday as Fintry makes the trip over to France for the Atalanta Stakes. Andre Fabre does not waste money on fanciful entries so we can assume that she is pretty smart. The danger could be John Gosden’s Water Hole who has won a couple of handicaps and deserves to take her chance at this level.

A huge field of handicappers go to post for the mile and a quarter handicap at 3.50. I’ve been going through the form but keep coming back to the ease with which Clon Brulee won at Newmarket last time. I don’t know the 7lb claimer and a 14 draw may not be ideal but he should go well. Forgotten Hero and Ajmany look the obvious dangers.

Chester also stages a very competitive card and B Fifty Two looks a tempting proposition in the opener. He blazed the trail here earlier in the season and comfortably holds Forest Edge on that form. More significantly, he nearly pulled off a shock win at the York Ebor festival and is housed in stall 2. He must surely go close although I am going to have a small saver on Dungannon who likes the ground and has slipped down the weights.

The seven furlong race at 2.55 is no easier to solve and plenty of people will fancy Foxtrot Tango to end his long losing run. It is true that he was second in the Irish 2000 Guineas and would win this doing cartwheels if he could reproduce that run. However, it is a long time ago now and I prefer the claims of Sir Michael Stoute’s Russian Realm. He was forced wide at York last time and is better with some give in the ground.

Finally, Whiplash Willie can gain a deserved Listed race success at 3.30. I was very disappointed with De Rigueur in the Ebor and the fast ground was blamed for his lack lustre performance. He is the main danger.

Future Empire 2.40 Sandown @9-4 William Hill

Fintry 3.15 Sandown @13-8 Betfred

Clon Brulee 3.50 Sandown @9-1 BetVictor

B Fifty Two 2.20 Chester @5-1 Paddy Power

Dungannon 2.20 Chester @10-1 William Hill (each-way)

Russian Realm 2.55 Chester @8-1 Totesport

Whiplash Willie 3.30 Chester @4-1 BetVictor

Chester Friday Preview

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Having secured a profit on each of the first two days at Chester, the pressure is on for the final day of the meeting. Friday’s card looks the weakest of the week and there are only a couple of horses that stand out for me.

At the start of the week I was saying just how vital a low draw is at the Roodeye. Typically, the two widest drawn horses in the opening two-year-old race finished 1-2! Normal service has been resumed for the rest of the week but the opener tomorrow throws up another conundrum.

Sir Michael Stoute does not keep a lot of older horses in training, especially unraced maidens. Abseil is very much an exception to the rule and he won his maiden in fine style at Yarmouth last month. He raced quite keenly early on but settled well enough for James Doyle before stretching clear over a mile. Only one of the beaten horses has run since and finished second so it is too early to say whether it was a decent maiden.

The handicapper has taken a chance by rating him at just 91. I think he is expected to go a lot higher than that but enter the dreaded Chester draw. He has drawn 13 of 14 which virtually puts him in the River Dee. The trouble is that I cannot find what is likely to beat him, apart from the draw. Capo Rosso won well on the all-weather but is in stall 11 while Here Comes When (1) and Big Johnny D (2) are likely to blaze the trail. The softer ground may help as it will slow the leaders down a little.

My second bet is for Mount Athos in the Ormonde Stakes. He hacked up in this race last year but it was a poor field, underlined by the runner-up Mad Moose! Even so, it showed that he handles it round here and his form in Australia was top notch. Stoute is again to the fore with Hillstar but almost all of his runners need their first run.

I am not a great fan of Jamie Spencer and I was amazed by his ride on Angel Gabrial in the Chester Cup. I had ready Richard Fahey’s column explaining that they had finally found out that the key to the horse was to hold him up as late as possible. Spencer held him up in rear but then unleashed him into the lead on the home turn. He was a sitting duck from that point and it was no surprise to see Ryan Moore steal the glory. Spencer should have no such problems on Mount Athos.

Abseil at 9-2 Paddy Power

Mount Athos at 9-4 Coral