14:35
Chester
Odds correct as of 2:02pm 05th May
Chester‘s best meeting of the year is the three-day May Festival and it kicks off on Wednesday. There are a couple of potentially significant Classic trials on offer across the seven-race card. Aidan O’Brien did the Cheshire Oaks and Chester Vase double last year so we’ve put his 2026 runners into a double.
The course has a severe draw bias so we’ve selected a couple of horses with low draws to follow. As four of the races are live on ITV, we’ve also provided some outsiders to follow. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
The master of Ballydoyle won both the Cheshire Oaks and the Chester Vase last year and both winners went on to follow up at Epsom. He has won these two races a combined 20 times during his career and is sending over a couple of very promising three-year-olds.
Amelia Earhart (11/4, bet365) got off the mark at the fifth time of asking when bolting up by seven lengths in a maiden over a mile last time out. There’s loads more to come from her this year and the step up in trip will be a massive help, if her pedigree is anything to go by.
Benvenuto Cellini (1/1, bet365) bolted up in a Group 2 at the Curragh last term and finished third behind Hawk Mountain and Action in the Futurity Trophy. He’s another horse who should appreciate going up to middle-distances and significant improvement in anticipated.
Chester has a severe draw bias and those drawn on the outside are at a significant advantage. With that in mind, we’ve picked out a couple of horses with advantageous draws.
Partisan Hero was runner-up in a handicap at Bahrain over 5f on his most recent starts and David Loughnane’s six-year-old is drawn in stall one. The step back up in trip will definitely help and he was a close second in this race last year.
Hugo Palmer knows how to train a winner at Chester and his runner Ruby’s Angel has the ideal draw in stall one. Tom Marquand is on board and if she can break quickly and get to the front, the three-year-old might prove hard to peg back.
French import The Angel King (40/1, bet365) won a handicap at Longchamp back in October and may well have needed the run at Haydock last month. He’s drawn three and could run well at a big price.
Star Material (20/1, bet365) won a Ripon maiden in good style last term and was then sent to Royal Ascot for the Norfolk Stakes, where he failed to fire. Second in a decent nursery at Ayr last term, he’s on a 1lb lower mark now and has a good draw.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.