‘SEE HOW THEY WON’ CHESTER CLASSIC GUIDE: The Derby and Oaks trials at Chester, York and Lingfield begin today with the Chester Vase and Cheshire Oaks. Chester is famous for fast-run sprints with a low-draw bias. But be warned today that rain may ring the changes. Daqman dares a nap at Southwell about a horse with 000 form figures. Headlines:
🔹CHESTER KEYS TO THE CLASSICS
🔹GREAT DAME IS A LEADING LADY
🔹SECRET FORM OUT IN THE OPEN
🔹LET’S BOOGIE AT THE BETDAQ 9.4
🔹DASHING 12.0 START FOR COOKIES
CHESTER KEYS TO THE CLASSICS
See how they won! Two of the top Derby trials in the last decade – alongside the 2,000 Guineas (won on Saturday by Magna Grecia) – have been today’s Chester Vase, with two big hits, and next week’s Dante Stakes at York, also with two.
The last two Oaks winners have come from today’s Cheshire Oaks. Otherwise, the best races for winners have been the 1,000 Guineas (won on Sunday by Hermosa) and the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket (Maqsad).
THE DERBY
2017 Wings Of Eagles SECOND Chester Vase
2015 Golden Horn WON Dante Stakes
2013 Ruler Of The World WON Chester Vase
2010 Workforce SECOND Dante Stakes
THE OAKS
2018 Forever Together SECOND Cheshire Oaks
2017 Enable WON Cheshire Oaks
2009 Sariska WON Musidora Stakes, York
GREAT DAME IS A LEADING LADY
1.50 Chester Eight out of 10 winners of this sprint were drawn in stalls 2, 3, 4 and 5. It also used to be said ‘follow a winner who’d had a bad draw at Chester’.
Rubbish! The two in this who managed that (2013 and 2014) scored just one more time between them, and their combined Chester form afterwards was 240.
Conclusion: the winner will be a precocious early bird, fast out of a low stall, like Great Dame (from gate 3 today and 5.8 on BETDAQ) who made all at Ripon.
Or like Iva Collection (stall 5 at 9.8), also a winner first time for the local Malpas stable of Tom Dascombe, but Richard Kingscote seems to prefer the same stable’s Dr Simpson (11), though he’s drawn near the castle wall.
Album (from 2) has Frankie Dettori booked, though the form was let down by Don’t Joke at Yarmouth, and he was ‘not wanted’ at 9.2 this morning.
Top Buck (gate 4 at 8.2) failed by little more than a length to give 5lb to a filly in a Windsor race that throws up winners. I prefer Great Dame for her allowance.
The morning favourite, Show Me Show Me, looks a formidable opponent as winner of the Brocklesby (second and third have won since). Can he overcome gate eight?
SECRET FORM OUT IN THE OPEN
2.25 Chester (Cheshire Oaks) Again, eight out of 10 winners have been drawn low (stalls 1 to 6), though Ryan Moore defied the eight stall to score on Wonder Of Wonders in 2011, so should know how to steer a way through the pack with Secret Thoughts (also in 8). She was 4.4. BETDAQ favourite this morning.
Her trainer, Aidan O’Brien, has won it six times (wonder of wonders!) and the form of Secret Thoughts’ fifth in the Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial has been boosted by both the winner (Lady Kaya, second in the 1,000 proper) and the second, Happen, who landed my nap in the Athasi Stakes on Monday.
Ralph Beckett usually has a strong filly and Manuela De Vega has the breeding for an Oaks and is unbeaten so far (2-2).
Mehdaayih, a daughter of Frankel, has been given an easy life, and is also 2-2 in nondescript heats, but Frankie Dettori prefers her stablemate, Fanny Logan, a Sea The Stars filly from the one stall with a lovely temperament. I took 6.8 on BETDAQ.
LET’S BOOGIE AT THE BETDAQ 9.4
3.00 Chester Another sprint; another where eight out of 10 winners come from the first five stalls; another where the local yard of Tom Dascombe attacks with more than one contender.
Best of his three – and well drawn in 5 – may be She Can Boogie, who returned form figures of 213 in successive races here at Chester last summer. I took 9.4 on BETDAQ, win and place. It seemed the obvious thing to do.
Stablemate Angel Alexander (stall 2) was disputing favouritism this morning with Top Breeze (from the one stall), with the Dark Angel runner gelded for this handicap debut after three seconds from three races last term.
Yolo Again (from 3) had 11 races as a two-year-old, and she has already been seen five times this year
Society Queen (from 4) has been absent since July but ran well first time last season and won two either side of the Super Sprint, when she was slowly away.
DASHING 12.0 START FOR COOKIES?
3.35 Chester (Vase) As well as worthwhile Derby pointers (Treasure Beach won 2011 and Ruler Of The World 2013), there have been winners we wish we hadn’t seen.
US Army Ranger was all the rage for Epsom after taking this trial in 2017 but then went on an 11-race losing streak, including last of 10 in the Derby. The second colt home lost 10 in a row before winning a class-5 handicap. Ouch!
All those I’ve mentioned so far were trained by Aidan O’Brien, who has won the Vase eight times in all, five consecutively (2013-17).
Ryan Moore was on all five, and chooses Norway (104) now, though Sir Dragonet (Donnacha O’Brien) is worth a notional 101 rating based on collateral form after his winning a 16-runner Tipperary maiden.
Norway, a full brother to Ruler Of The World, won the Zetland Stakes and was fourth in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud.
King Ottokar beat Dashing Willoughby in soft ground at Newbury in April but I fancied Willoughby to turn the tables next time. Here’s his chance as a Fortune Cookie at a massive 12.0, with Norway suspect. I expected Norway to be a short price today and the 5.7 looks like a caveat emptor, so I’ll take a bit of 3.3 the place Dashing Willoughby to cover the Cookies’ win stake.
7.35 Southwell My man in the long grass warns of a likely gamble at Southwell tonight, though 4.0 offered this morning.
You should see a different Spargrove now he’s stepped up in trip, with more to come over even further. It’s a three-runs-and-hit first handicap.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.50 Chester (win 20)
BET 5.5pts win SHOW ME SHOW ME
BET 4pts win GREAT DAME
2.25 Chester (win 20)
BET 5.8pts win SECRET THOUGHTS
BET 3.4pts win FANNY LOGAN
3.00 Chester (win 20)
BET 2.25pts win and place SHE CAN BOOGIE
3.35 Chester (win 20)
BET 8.5pts place DASHING WILLOUGHBY
7.35 Southwell (win 20)
BET 6.6pts win (nap) SPARGROVE
FORTUNE COOKIES
3.35 Chester (level stakes)
BET 20pts DASHING WILLOUGHBY
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