Thursday’s racing includes day two of Chester’s May meeting. Our award-winning tipster Daryl Carter has four selections across three races alongside Bet365‘s new customer offer of Bet £10, Get £50 In Free Bets.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
2.05 Chester – Outgate (1pt win – 10/3)
OUTGATE was a big eye-catcher at Newmarket, and from the plum draw in stall one, he can get back to winning ways dropped slightly in distance. The winner was an upwardly mobile Godolphin horse, and the third, fourth and fifth were all last time out winners. That form looks strong in the context of this race today, and he should get a good tow into this race from likely front runners in stalls two, four and five. He is more of a 6f horse in my mind. Both of his wins have come around a left-handed bend, and he is not the strongest stayer over a stiff seven furlongs, so today’s sharp track looks ideal for him to strike, and he could have a sharper turn of foot than a few in this contest.
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2.05 Chester – Bastogne (1pt e/w 16/1 bet365, 14/1 general)
The other I want to back is the outsider of the field, BASTOGNE, who is well over-priced but may be seen to best effect once stepped up to 1m, but this extra 1/2 a furlong helps. Still, there is a good amount of pace on here and should this turn into a stamina test, then he is the one I want to be on. He can easily be forgiven for his Wolverhampton return under Gina Mangan, who was not hard on him in the closing stages. Still, he is a horse that finds tremendously for pressure, so his performance underestimates his actual ability. He had Outgate behind last term when doing remarkably well from stall 15 and the best of those up with the pace at York behind Harrow in a race that has strength in depth. He was a good second to our recent winner Desert Angel at Newmarket next time before running with credit in Listed company in France. He has more to come off this mark of 85, and James Doyle gets a good tune out of him. The visor, for the first time, is a positive for this trainer, and that could bring out further improvement and sharpen him up during the midsection of the race – he is no 20/1 chance.
BACK BASTOGNE AND GET £50 IN FREE BETS
2.40 Chester – Mr McCann (1.5pt win – 7/1)
None of these at the top of the market are extremely convincing, so this can go to the outsider of the field MR MCCANN – the sole pace angle in the race. He was a horse firmly on the up last season and ended his year with an authoritative win at Epsom in a conditions event and fitted with the first time tongue-tie and up in trip. He is open to plenty of improvement. He sets a good form standard over shorter in this field, so it’s baffling as to why he is the outsider of six, especially as he is likely to be primed for this return for a trainer and owner outfit running at their local track. James Doyle is a positive booking for the yard, and he, along with Harrow, easily set the form standard in this contest. The switch back to turf for Harrow is positive, but the trip is not on his pedigree, while Sonny Liston failed to back up his promising debut effort and maybe flying too high here. The same applies to the O’Brien runner who is at the top of the market through nothing more than trainer reputation. Cresta needs a more conventional track, and the application of the hood is not a positive, that leaves Dubai Poet for last year’s winning trainer. He is a slow burner than scored second time out last season but achieved no more than Sonny Liston on the bare form, so he will presumably be over-bet. Mr McCann will prove very hard to catch today.
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3.40 Chester – Restorer (1pt E/W – 20/1)
This looks competitive enough, but it may pay to chance the veteran Restorer on this return to Chester. He failed to handle the undulating track at Ripon last time when a never nearer sixth in a steadily run race after being slowly away from the gates. Still he ran with credit twice prior, including when narrowly touched off over today’s trip at Kempton in a good Class 2 event. Today represents a drop into a Class 3 contest for the first time since September when fifth here off a handicap mark of 92 but the key to him looks to be the first time or the reapplication of the headgear. He has dropped down to a handicap mark of 84 and today the visor reapplied after running the last twice without any headgear.His form figures when running with headgear first time or reapplied read 1245. All of those runs came in Class 2 company off of higher handicap marks, and today’s softer surface should see him to good effect, given he stays further than this trip. He has a good record here at Chester, but it’s the visor that could be key, and four of his six wins have come over today’s trip. Jockey Richard Kingscote has finished 1st, 2nd and 5th when partnering on turf and his four runs on the AW this term, although shaping with a good deal of promise, can be forgiven seems as he is now 0-11 on that surface.
Daryl Carter’s Best Bets
2.05 Chester – Outgate (1pt win – 10/3)
2.05 Chester – Bastogne (1pt e/w 16/1 bet365, 14/1 general)
2.40 Chester – Mr McCann (1.5pt win – 7/1)
3.40 Chester – Restorer (1pt E/W – 20/1)
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