I have a fancy in the first race at Chester and that fancy is the Irish trained Thats Plenty who finished a good second in the Irish Lincoln before winning cosily at Musselburgh last time out. The step up in distance is of no concern as he has won over nine and eleven furlongs on the all weather. He has a cracking drae in berth two and as he likes to be up there from the start, its just perfect!! The betfair prices of 8.4 and 2.96 look very fair to me. Thats Plenty 1.45 Chester win and place.
Queen Spud finally got her head in front last time out after some good placed efforts and at just five years of age is entitled to have a fair but of improvement to come. The Daly stable have left the headgear off this time but the way she won last time suggested that the penny had dropped and she could well be up to defying a penalty. Dream Mistress dropping back in trip may give her most to do but at a very fair price of 3.0 on Betfair its a win bet on Queen Spud.
In the next over the water Hellberemembered is holding his form well and it a very tempting 11 in the win market and 2.98 to place. Win and place it is.
Ratify not only carries top weight today but has to give upwards of a stone to his rivals and all for good reason. Since joining Dai Burchell he has a win and two places to his name and looks to be a penalty kick against these opponents. His nearest market rival is Little Jimmy who was beaten out of sight last time out despite being in second place, he also has no form over this distance worth mentioning and with Silver Steel and Chapel House both up in grade the 2.48 about Ratify looks very tasty.
Light The City has some decent form on fibresand, at least in the context of this race that is and he can come home in front in this weak looking affair. Its important to have the right jockey on your side in these amateur events and Sall Brotherton fits the bill in this. She has a near 15% strike rate and has at leas placed in half of her rides for Ruth Carr. Light The City has shown some improvement of late over hurdles with a win in a Class 4 Hurdle at Sedgefield and a Class 5 Novices Handicap Hurdle and on her last visit here Light The City ran ok to finish second to a horse now rated 74, was 55 at the time. Running froma pound out of the handicap shouldnt stop Light The City from winning this, on Betfair at 3.55 looks fine to me.
In this race for Amateurs the six year old Consistant looks to be the value bet. In two recent course runs the gelding hasn't been beaten very far and with two course and distance wins to his name and a decent amateur on board he can go well enough in this to get the win. At the moment you can get 4.2 on Betfair and that looks value to me in this very moderate affair.
Final Assault showed decent for last time out and that second placing at Musselburgh is the best piece of form on show in this race and with just a little more improvement he should prove more than strong enough for this weak looking field and bring home the bacon. On Betfair at 2.66 and that seem very fair to me.
This is not the greatest of races and with that in mind the lightly race nine year old who is the only course winner in the field, High Ron, is the choice here. With just seven races under his belt there could still be some improvement to come from High Ron, he won last time out over this course showing a lot of grit to rally after being headed to fight back and win his race. That was over a slightly shorter distance but the way he was staying on suggest that this extra will be of no problem. It was heavy going that day and he looked to thrive on it. You can back him on Betfair at 7.4 and at 3.4 for the place. High Ron win and place for me.
Gerald Quinn gets on well with Boomtown and has won four times from nine rides on him to date. He won very nicely last time out at Huntingdon having been very reluctant to even start the race at one stage. Providing he gets over the starting line then an eight pound rise in the weights will not stop him putting in a decent performance against this field. He has plenty of form with give in the ground, distance is fine and the odds are very attractive. You can back him on Betfair at the moment at a very nice 13.5 in the Win Market and a nice 3.35 in the Place Market. Boomtown it is then, win and place.
Todays Sadexo Clarence House Chase a Grade 1 at Ascot looks an intriguing race. Sire De Grugy is the one I like. He has form on heavy going when he won a Novices event at Lingfield 14 months ago on only his third chase start. He has gone on to win 7 of his 10 chases to date, finishing second in two of the others and the only time he was kept out of the frame was when making far too many mistakes in the John Smith's Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree. He is still prone to making the odd error as when seeing off the reopposing Somersby at Sandown in December, Somersby does go well at this venue but he was beaten fair and square by Sire De Grugy last time out and will need help from the ground if he is to turn the tables here. Hidden Cyclone has a good record over these shorter distances but looks to have a little to find with Sire in my opinion. Sire De Grugy is currently an easy 7/4 shot at several Bookmakers right now and looks the bet to me, he is trading at just 2.5 on Betfair!!