
We’re off to Chester this week for an action-packed three-day meeting. And for Day 1 I’ve put together a cracking each way Lucky 15 that I think is going to get us off to a great start. We begin with two sprints, where both of my selections have optimum conditions and I’m hoping for a bold show from the pair of them. The first of them doesn’t have the most favourable draw, but he is open to plenty of improvement and I am hoping that he can outrun the draw bias. Meanwhile, my second pick has bags of stamina in her pedigree and I think she will stay on and come through late on in the race.
My next two selections run in staying races, both of which have a class lineup. The first is a flashy filly who has two generations of Classic winners in her pedigree and the second, who runs in the Chester Vase, couldn’t be any better suited for this race. Just so as you know, I’ll be covering all three days of the Chester meeting, so don’t forget to pop back tomorrow for more betting tips.
My favoured bookie offer for Day 1 at Chester comes from our good friends at Ladbrokes.
Bet £5, and you’ll get £20 in free bets. What better way to make the most of this action-packed three day meeting..
My first Lucky 15 betting tip comes in the opening race where we have a very competitive six furlong Handicap. There are some nice sorts in the lineup, with a few near the top of the market that are open to plenty of improvement. The likes of Auric, Stash The Cash and Old Chum are all likely to be popular with the punters, but I have a fancy a little further down the field.
My pick is Andrew Balding's Al Shabab Storm, who has some nice form and I think this fast ground is going to really play to his strengths. He had four starts as a two-year-old, winning one of them, but his best run was a very close second to Accumulate here at Newmarket. He seemed very much at home on a fast surface and as a son of Advertise (a three-time Group 1 winner with a lot of speed) he has inherited plenty of it. He was a beaten favourite on his first start this season, but will have blown away the cobwebs and I imagine he will take a big step forward from that run. My only concern here is his wide draw, but if he can break well, I‘m sure he’s more than capable of outrunning the bias.
Next up we have a five furlong sprint with an 11 runner field. There are two in particular that stand out to me here, the first of which is the Tom Dascombe runner Seraphim Angel. She finished fourth on debut at Newmarket, which actually looks like it could be some good form to bring into this race. In addition, Dascombe is a local trainer who does very well at the track, so it would be no surprise to see this filly improve from her debut.
The one I‘ve decided on though is
Kodibeat, who runs for Paul Cole, a trainer that is already doing very well with his youngsters this season.
She is a nice filly, who won by a neck on debut at Kempton on the all weather, and I was really impressed with that run. This race will be run very differently, as they will go plenty fast up front on this sharp left-handed track, but Kodibeat is actually bred to go further, so I have no concerns about her stamina. All she needs is to be in a good position on the turn, and she should get her head down and be there or thereabouts at the finish.
The Cheshire Oaks is always a fantastic race to watch and this year’s renewal looks set to be another cracking contest. Galileo Dame, for Joseph O’Brien, is the favourite after her impressive win at Leopardstown last month. She is bred to appreciate this trip too and she is entitled to improve again, but for me there is only one winner here and that is Port Fairy for Ballydoyle.
She faltered a bit on debut, but then went on to win at Dundalk on her second outing. Even though she only won by a neck, I really liked her attitude and to me, she looked like a horse open to plenty more. Her sire is Australia, who excelled as a three-year-old, winning both the English and Irish Derby, and her grandsire is Ouija Board who won the Oaks, so Port Fairy is bred to near perfection for this. She isn’t your typically flashy three-year-old filly, but I expect her to excel this season. She has entries for the Pretty Polly, The Ribblesdale and The Irish Oaks, making her a very interesting contender here and she is a decent price in my eyes.
The final leg of my Lucky 15 comes in the Chester Vase, where we have a small but classy field of colts and geldings. Cadogan Place and Hidden Law only have a neck between them and they are likely to be closely-matched again here, but I’m not sure either of them are quite good enough to beat current favourite Grosvenor Square.
He is a three-year-old by Galileo who progressed nicely last season and the step up in trip here looks well worth a shot. He is a strong traveller and had enough pace to handle the mile as a two-year-old, but he is surely going to excel over a longer trip and with an official rating of 109, he sets a pretty high standard. So, for our final leg, I am going to side with Grosvenor Square, despite his short price, as we should already have a few winners up to this point and he will be very, very hard to beat.
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