Two of the biggest races of the week are the Chester Vase and the Chester Oaks. They are often seen as some of the best Derby trials and Oaks trials before the big classic at Epsom in June.
Keep An Eye Out For Epsom
Out of the two races, the Chester Oaks has the best recent record of providing winners or placed horses at Epsom. The most high-profile of these was Enable in 2017 for John Gosden, who won at Chester and Epsom in her three-year-old season. Forever Together also won at Epsom after finishing second in the Chester Oaks. Furthermore, horses that ran in the race but didn’t win at Chester or Epsom, such as Fanny Logan, Above The Curve, and Manuela De Vega all went on to have good careers, so it’s always worth looking at horses that finish down the field.
Moore The Master
When it comes to looking at the leading jockeys, Ryan Moore is mustard around Chester. In the past five seasons, he’s had a 44% strike rate at the track. If you bet £1 on all his rides in that period, you’d be +£19.79. Granted, many of those wins have come for Aidan O’Brien. Whether it’s making all from the front or tracking off the pace, he’s just tactically very versatile.
Beware Of O’Brien
Speaking of Aidan O’Brien, he likes to heavily target this meeting. Last year he sent five horses, and three of them won, and then in 2022 he sent the same number again, but this time they all won. It’s not just Classic trials he enters his horses; he even likes to run some of his horses in handicaps, which included Cleveland winning the Chester Cup in 2022. Whatever he is sending across the Irish Sea this year merits serious respect.
The Draw Dillemma
The other key factor when it comes to Chester is the draw. Having a low draw is a positive at the track, especially over the sprint distances. One race where this can be seen is the 5f handicap on the opening day. No horse drawn wider than Stall 6 has won since 2015.
However, Stall 1 isn’t always a positive, especially if they are a hold-up performer. If your horse gets off to a slow start, they can be on the back foot and stuck behind a wall of horses. That means it very hard to pass horses as they are always on the turn, and it can be a nightmare to watch.Â
Chester Climate
With this meeting always taking place in May, it often means the ground rides on the soft side. Following horses who have soft-ground pedigrees or form in the mud is usually not a bad thing at Chester.
I hope you all have a good week watching at Chester, and please remember to gamble responsibly if you’re having a bet!
