Will Somehow Wow The Crowd, At Chester?
It’s Day 1 of the May Festival, at Chester, with a terrific 7-race card that gets underway at 2.10. The Lily Agnes Stakes is a 5f juvenile contest, although only Oisin Murphy’s Our Greta is on track for the first time.. Fiery Character won at odds of 33/1, on debut at Newmarket. You might struggle to get even-money on Tom Dascombe’s runner today, so taking was the filly’s victory. Copper Knight may well have won, at Windsor, had the Sir Prancelot colt not hung left during the final furlong. He can go close, if the creases have been ironed out of him.
The Listed Cheshire Oaks follows, at 2.40. Aidan O’Brien has won 4 of the last 8 renewals and it will be a surprise if Somehow doesn’t make it 5 out of 9. She’s the daughter of Alexandrova (winner of the 2006 Oaks) and impressed when winning at Leopardstown. Alex My Boy should enjoy this longer trip, although there are doubts over Doubly Motivated’s stamina. Dessertoflife has won in G3 company, on German soil, so cannot be ruled out. Improvement is needed from both Moorside and Mirsaalah.
Concorde Jets In For The Chester Cup
There has been no shortage of market-support for Steve Rogers, Roger Varian’s hope in the Chester Cup (3.10). He’s been drawn favorably and looked in great form when winning at Kempton. Silver Concorde may well be a better value bet though, given his victory in the Irish November Handicap. Le Maitre Chat finished 6th in the Cesarewitch and does not look over-burdened by the handicapper.
The Boodles Diamond (3.45) looks an excellent opportunity for Roudee to get back to winning ways. He’s shown he can deal with both good and soft ground and was only beaten by a length, at Epsom last month. Growl should at least reverse places with Avon Breeze, while Muyakinis looked fresh when re-appearing at Kempton.
Red Is The Colour, For Ryan
The 4.20 could be a happy hunting ground for Sir Maximilian, a course and distance winner who has raced in Group company. Mulk is a half-brother to Duke Of Firenze and looks too good for his rivals in the 4.55. Red Vernon’s sole win came on the all-weather, but with Ryan Moore booked he should be the one to beat in the last race (5.25).
The Rest Of The UK Action
Portway Flyer faces an 11lb rise, but may still find enough to win the 3.35 at Newton Abbot. Fox Appeal found only Thomas Crapper too good, at Newbury, so the Irish runner is expected to be in the shake-up. Art Mauresque is another potential winner, based on his performance at Cheltenham. Cobajayisland steps back up in trip and can pick up a victory, this afternoon, in the 4.00 at Kelso. There’s also evening racing at both Chelmsford and Wetherby.
Penhill Tops The Bill, At Tramore
Over in Ireland, there are 7 races at Tramore and necks will be craning to watch when Penhill makes his hurdles debut for Willie Mullins. Should things go well, we could be looking at a future National Hunt star. Tajseer is also of interest.
Listed Contest, In France
More big races are scheduled in France, with Solway taking on Ozamo in the Grande Course de Haies de Printemps. Neverchangepartner goes for Jean-Paul Gallorini, in the Listed Prix Wild Monarch, while Shakapon is hot-favourite for the Prix Jean de La Rochefoucauld. The big race at Lyon is the Grand Prix de l’Hippodrome de Lyon-La-Soie.
There are 8 races at Greyville (South Africa) and a further 8 at Happy Valley (Hong Kong). Got Fly is all set to take-off, in the Victoria Racing Club Trophy.
Good luck, wherever you are betting today!
