The final day of Chester‘s May meeting takes place on Friday. Including the Chester Cup, the feature race of the festival, seven tricky puzzles remain for punters to try and work out.
Matty Sutcliffe is on hand with his best bets for the final day of the meeting. He has four top tips for Chester’s Friday card.
Chester Racing Tips (Friday 8 May)
Matty has a tip in the Chester Cup for you to follow, as well as three more on their Friday card.
1:30 Chester – CAA Stellar Great Cheshire Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (4yo+ 0-105) – El Burhan 5/1 1pt WIN
El Burhan was always doing enough when a neck winner at this meeting on seasonal debut off 7lbs lower last season and targeting this meeting will have been the plan once more. That looked the case on seasonal debut at Kempton in the Roseberry handicap, when slowly away and having to exert plenty energy wide to gain a prominent position. He was short of room when mounting his challenge there, and subsequently looked after once the chance had gone.
The four-year-old disappointed here after his win last season, but he was friendless in the market and blew the break from the widest stall, never featuring throughout in rear in a race where you had to be prominent. He stepped up next time out when a comfortable winner back up to this trip, taking the Kilkerran Cup at Ayr giving 14lbs to the second for a two-length win.
With distance and course form proven, he looks to have a strong chance providing he can sharpen himself up from the stalls and a mark of 100 could yet underestimate this well bred son of New Bay.
2:05 Chester – Boodles Darley EBF Maiden Stakes (GBB/GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo) – Eben Al Khawaneej 16/1 0.5pt EW 2 places
The collateral form-lines of Joulany make him a worthy favourite and he sets the standard on ratings, but from a value perspective it may pay to chance Eben Al Khawaneej whose connections won this with a surprise winner in Al Wasl Storm last season.
Eben Al Khawaneej debuted in the same Newbury maiden at that one last month, and he was beaten a similar margin behind the highly regarded Water To Wine. While he isn’t drawn as ideally as Al Wasl Storm was last season, I suspect we’ll see a different animal this around, who’s bred to be smart coming from the family of Showcasing and Camacho and this is Owen Burrows’ sole runner at Chester this week.
3:05 Chester – Ladbrokes Chester Cup (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (4yo+) – Purturhandstogether 6/1 1pt EW
Joseph O’Brien fields three with two of them drawn opposite ends of the field, but it’s Puturhandstogether from stall 17 who gets the nod as despite his wide draw, he could be classy enough to defy it off a mark of 92.
The son of Caravaggio has developed into a highly useful dual purpose sort for connections, landing the Fred Winter Handicap at the Cheltenham Festival two seasons ago, before finishing third in Grade One company at Aintree. His form figures over obstacles since Cheltenham reads 3602600, but he’s ran creditably in for the most part, and his highlight in between was when winning the Irish Cesarewitch off 10lbs lower last season.
He won that a shade cosier than the finishing distance suggested, and the form has worked out very well. The second won a Group 3 next time out by three lengths, the third was placed twice in strong Group 1 staying contests after, and the fifth was second in the Newmarket Cesarewitch.
He wasn’t winning out of turn, as prior to that he was a two length third to a subsequent Group 2 second and valuable USA Stakes winner in Fleetfoot.
This mark back on the flat demands more, but it does look workable on the aforementioned collateral form and he has more than enough experience in big field handicaps to overcome the likely tough test from the widest stall.
3:40 Chester – Tom Jones Live At Chester Racecourse Handicap (Class 4) (4yo+ 0-80) – Jonny Concrete 12/1 1pt EW 4 places
Jonny Concrete has form figures of 31122 in class four handicaps and drops back to this company for the first time since beaten half-a-length into second at York by one who was given an excellent front running ride, making it five wins in his last eight races. That form has worked out well, given the third is now rated 11lbs higher (20lbs on the all-weather), and the fourth won a racing league handicap two starts later.
Jonny Concrete wasn’t disgraced when beaten two lengths in a class two next time out, again a neck behind the York winner, and that race worked out in spades as the fourth beat the sixth to land the valuable Constantine Handicap at the Ebor meeting and the second is now looking very much a group sprinter after two comfortable wins at Newmarket for Andrew Balding.
He’s only 2lbs above his last winning mark which came after a 194 day layoff on seasonal debut last term and with proven form around sharper tracks this test can suit from a handy draw in stall six.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Chester May Meeting Day 3 Tips for Friday 8 May
1:30 Chester – CAA Stellar Great Cheshire Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (4yo+ 0-105) – El Burhan 5/1 1pt WIN
2:05 Chester – Boodles Darley EBF Maiden Stakes (GBB/GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo) – Eben Al Khawaneej 16/1 0.5pt EW 2 places
3:05 Chester – Ladbrokes Chester Cup (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (4yo+) – Purturhandstogether 6/1 1pt EW
3:40 Chester – Tom Jones Live At Chester Racecourse Handicap (Class 4) (4yo+ 0-80) – Jonny Concrete 12/1 1pt EW 4 places
Matthew Sutcliffe’s Best Bets – Friday 8 May
FAQs
What are today’s racing tips?
Matthew Sutcliffe provides his best bets for Day 3 of Chester’s May Meeting, which takes place on Friday 8 May.
When were Matthew Sutcliffe’s tips published?
Matty Sutcliffe’s racing tips were published at 8.45am on Thursday 7 May.
Who is Matthew Sutcliffe?
Matthew Sutcliffe is GGs newest contributor, often providing a value angle for his tips. He writes weekly columns for the weekend’s racing, as well as taking aim at ante-post markets at the Cheltenham Festival. Follow him on X: @MattySutcliffe
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