Chester’s May meeting continues on Thursday, as more Classic trials are mixed with some of the Roodee’s idiosyncratic handicaps. GG tipster Joe Napier pircks out four ebst bets, and is backing a veteran to roll back the years in the opener…
1.30 Chester – CAA Stellar Handicap
An inside draw is almost a necessity in this handicap and so the verdict is given to evergreen veteran COPPER KNIGHT. Still going at the age of 11, he is unsurprisingly sat on his lowest ever handicap mark, but that does not look to be because he is feeling his age.
He won over course and distance for the fourth time last term, as well as finishing second in this race off 2lb higher than his current mark. Any ground does not faze him, while he was also third at York last season among a succession of mostly respectable efforts in big-field handicaps during competitive meetings.
He is still going strong, as evidenced when finishing third at Beverley on return in a race he was only seventh in a year ago. That will have set him up ideally for this at a track he loves and he is ignored at your peril.
2.35 Chester – Boodles Raindance Dee Stakes (Listed)
Although this race is the domain of Aidan O’Brien, who has claimed seven of the last ten renewals, including six of the last seven, his two runners this year far from convince, even factoring in that it is usually his second strings who run in it. This looks ripe for an upset as a result, so chance outsider GREAT DAVID for James Tate.
Although he is bred in a far lighter shade of purple than his contemporaries here, three of his four half-siblings have won, all of whom have done so at a decent level. Great David took time to come to hand, but he was running in strong maidens as a juvenile and looked to have developed into an extremely promising three-year-old on his reappearance at Nottingham.
Always travelling strongly, he readily dispatched his rivals off a mark of 76, suggesting he was on the path to Pattern company form. This requires another step up of course, but that was a taking performance upped to this sort of distance, and he may not be far off what’s required.
4.10 Chester – Haliwell Jones Handicap
Any each-way price is too tempting about course specialist BOX TO BOX regardless of a wide draw. The impact of the draw, even on the tight and turning Roodee, has less of an impact the longer the distance, as evidenced by the selection having overcome stall 9 (widest draw) to win, as well as the same stall out of ten to finish second.
Stall 12 of 14 therefore holds no fears regards his chances, as he has become extremely well-handicapped. Hugo Palmer’s charge has form figures at this track of 11612122. That last pair of runner-up efforts came off marks of 94 and 96, but because of a drop in form since, all of which has come away from the Roodee, he is rated just 86 for this British reappearance.
However, there are traces of decent runs in the meantime, including a sixth of 16 at York off 7lb higher than today’s rating, and he made the frame on his first start in Bahrain over the winter. Having been beaten on the line in this race 12 months ago, this will have been a long term target to kickstart the six-year-old’s campaign and he should go very close.
4.45 Chester – Oxford Natural Handicap
There is no reason to suspect lady Vivian will not transfer her strong all-weather form to turf, with her victory last time out having been significantly franked. For a handicap debut though, she looks a skinny price off top-weight against a fair number of rivals who look unexposed, especially at this extended 1m4f trip.
Chief among those is MOTAWAARED for George Boughey. Once again, we are dealing with a horse drawn wide, but it does matter less over this distance, particularly given there are only eight runners. Similarly, though this son of Mohaather may initially appear speedily bred given his sire, his dam’s side is full of stamina; a half-sibling by speedy sire Showcasing won over 2m5f in the National Hunt sphere.
As a result, this half-mile increase in trip looks a distinct positive for his chances. An opening mark of 75 is more than fair for a horse who has held his own in novice and maiden company over 1m, so he is worthy of plenty of respect with improvement likely.
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