Day two of the Chester May Festival is under the microscope ahead of tomorrow’s interesting card, and I have highlighted three bets to consider.
On Wednesday’s results, Thunder Blue was notably well-backed before the finale, and he ran a fine race. He probably will come on for it, in hindsight.
However, the biggest eye-catcher of the day came in the Cheshire Oaks thanks to Caspi Star, the third home for Charlie Johnston.
She had an awful route through the race, but once Silvestre De Sousa got going on her, she stayed on well through the line.
She is one to watch this season. Anyway, here are Thursday’s picks.
Chester May Festival Day 2 Selections
1:30 Chester – Copper Knight @ 9/1 with Betfred (4 places) – 0.5pt EW
It’s great to see the 11-year-old legend Copper Knight still going as well as ever, but with the nostalgia-tinted glasses taken off, he must be given a chance in the opening five-furlong handicap.
He has four wins and two seconds around Chester, one of those runners-up medals occurring in this race last year off this exact handicap rating.
He came into last year’s race on the back of a run at Beverley two weeks prior, and Tim Easterby has campaigned him the same way this year. He was seventh in the Beverley contest last year compared to his third last month.
Although he is 11, a mark of 75 his joint-second lowest rating since he was first given a handicap mark in 2017 (!), and the horse he ran into in this race last year, Democracy Dilemma, went on to win the Beverley Bullet and finish third to the subsequent Breeders’ Cup winner Starlust in a Listed race at York.
With a kind draw in three, the experienced sprinter can outrun his each-way odds on his 104th race under rules.
2:35 Chester – Mount Kilimanjaro @ 7/4 with William Hill – 1.5pt Win
It was a favourites day today at Chester, and Aidan O’Brien had it off in the Classic Trials, though that hasn’t directly influenced my decision to back Mount Kilimanjaro
Yes, it’s helpful that the master of Ballydoyle had a good day, but looking at the horse in isolation, there are plenty of upsides.
By Siyouni out of the Galileo mare Decorating, his immediate family includes Coil, a two-time Grade 1 winner on the dirt in America, and Chiropractor, a Grade 1 winner on the turf in America.
So, he has a nice family, and although some of his form as a juvenile came on slower surfaces, these family members suggest nicer ground will be no issue to him. He also finished third to Field Of Gold at Newmarket on good ground in July, and he ran a fine race on debut behind Scorthy Champ on good.
Those names mentioned show he has good form in the book, but both of those races came over seven furlongs. He won nicely under Ryan Moore when he stepped up to eight furlongs on Arc weekend, and he showed stamina when second to his stablemate Twain in the Group 1 Criterium International.
Again, that came on heavy ground, and he actually suffered a small bit of interference when Twain switched onto the rail, but he rallied really well to only be beaten by one-and-a-quarter lengths.
With a run at Dundalk under the belt, he will come on for the effort, and this step up in trip should work nicely for him. He is my main fancy in the race.
2:35 Chester – Hott Shott @ 11/1 with William Hill – 0.5pt Win
Although Mount Kilimanjaro is the main play, I do want to have something small on Hott Shott at a big price.
Richard Hughes plotted Bracken’s Laugh towards this race last year when second to Aidan O’Brien’s Capulet, and he used the same route as he has for Hott Shott.
That route included a trip to Chelmsford for the Listed Cardinal Conditions Stakes, and Hott Shott finished a fine fourth in that race in early April.
He also stayed on through the line when second to Opera Ballo at Kempton on his seasonal reappearance over eight furlongs, and the fourth, Quai De Bethune, was third to the promising Cosmic Year on his debut run at Sandown last season.
He ran over seven furlongs as a juvenile, so his performances can be upgraded as he has shaped like a horse who wants further, yet his run in the Group 3 Solario Stakes when fifth to Field Of Gold was still promising.
He has trained on nicely from two to three, and he has two runs under his belt this year. He could well be the big-priced runner to consider in this field.
