(Stock ID: 2010757235)
The Chester May Festival once again delivered three days of high-class racing, tactical intrigue, and Classic clues on the unique Roodee circuit.
From eye-catching trials to dramatic finishes and notable performances from both horse and rider, the meeting served up plenty for punters and racing fans to digest in the horse racing tips.
With the Flat season now in full swing, here are some of the key talking points to emerge from one of the sport’s most distinctive and eagerly anticipated early-season festivals.
East India Dock wins the Chester Cup
Where better to start than with the feature of the entire meeting, the Chester Cup is more than 200 years old, and a true test of a horse’s stamina over a gruelling two miles, two-and-a-half furlongs.
It’s not often that the favourite prevails in the historic handicap, but market leader East India Dock didn’t care about the trends when staying on for a landmark win for James Owen.
Dual-purpose horses that can operate at a top class level are few and far between in modern racing, but this classy four-year-old is undoubtedly one.
He’s won two Grade 2s over hurdles at Cheltenham and now the Chester Cup since moving to Owen from James Fanshawe last October, and his next port of call could be June’s Northumberland Plate.
Illinois has options open for staying contests
Last year’s St Leger runner-up Illinois made a promising reappearance in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes, keeping on in the closing stages from Al Qareem and the Willie Mullins-trained Absurde.
A dual winner over the extended distances last season, scoring at Group 2 level at Royal Ascot and Longchamp, Illinois now has a wealth of options going into the peak of the campaign.
The versatile four-year-old’s entries range from the one-mile, two-and-a-half furlong Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh to the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup over two miles and four furlongs.
How he’s campaigned for the rest of the season remains to be seen, but Aidan O’Brien has previously stated that he’s unlikely to run any of his horses against stablemate Kyprios in the Gold Cup.
Minnie Hauk lands the Cheshire Oaks
One of three Classic trials to be held during the Chester May Festival, Minnie Hauk landed the Cheshire Oaks for O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
It was somewhat hard to gauge the potential of the Frankel filly off the back of her two runs last October, winning on her second start at Leopardstown after finishing second on debut.
However, the three-year-old appears to be as classy as her pedigree suggests, given the manner in which she kicked on from her rivals to land this Listed contest.
Minnie Hauk has subsequently been slashed to a general 8/1 for the lucrative Epsom Oaks, making her the second favourite behind 1000 Guineas winner Desert Flower.
O’Brien dominated Derby trials
It was sheer dominance by O’Brien on the Roodee, and the wrath of his power was felt in the key Derby trials—the Chester Vase and the Dee Stakes.
On the same day Minnie Hauk threw her hat in the ring for the Oaks, Lambourn claimed the Chester Vase in emphatic fashion—winning the race for an 11th time for the Ballydoyle handler.
24 hours later, O’Brien became the outright record holder of the Dee Stakes, with Mount Kilimanjaro helping the Irish trainer surpass Barry Hills with a 12th win.
The son of Siyouni was slashed in half from 40/1 to 20/1 for the Derby as a result, while Lambourn was cut from 50/1 to 25/1 for flat racing’s top prize.