Thanks to Cairnzy for filling in on the thread in my absence.
It was nice to see the big lad come back and put up a winner in the shape of Lambourn, who stayed on well under Ryan Moore at Chester, in the style of a progressive horse.
Mount Kilimanjaro 15/8 (2pt) – Chester 2.35
Even though I don't think Mount Kilimanjaro is going to be a world beater this year for Ballydoyle, I do think he is the best horse in this race and anything above EVS is definitely deemed as value.
Ryan Moore rides Chester better than any other jockey, and his record at this track in the last five years is nothing short of sensational (21/43, 49% sr). Granted, he rides the best horses, but that doesn't mean all that much as Chester is one of the trickiest racecourses in the country, and he navigates his horses around the track like a man possessed, and I can see him winning another Class 1 race at this venue with Mount Kilimanjaro.
This horse is the highest rated coming into this race, and that's all based on his runs as a juvenile. He is rated 109, with the nearest horse being rated 100, so the others have a lot of catching up to do if they were to beat him. He has been on the track once this season, at Dundalk 62 days ago, where he was beaten as the 1/4F, and he didn't run anywhere near the form of last year. However, many of Aidan's horses have needed the run, which looked to be the case for this lad last time out, but with that under his belt, he should be able to kickstart his season today.
They are stepping him up in trip today, and based on how he ran last year, that should suit him as he was strong at the finish in the majority of his races over a mile and slightly shorter. He has a good pedigree, and his pedigree suggests the step up by a couple of furlongs will make him a better horse.
Lady Chartwell 9/2 (1pt) – Chelmsford 7.55
Away from Chester, I thought Lady Chartwell was worth a shot now she has returned to the scene of her sole win the time before last.
This horse showed a decent amount of ability as a juvenile on the turf, but she didn't manage to get a win until making her AW debut over today's course and distance, so it might be the case that she is better on this surface. She returned to the turf 23 days ago, and she was no where near as impressive as she was at Chelmsford the time before, so even though she is running off a 6lb higher mark than when winning here recently, she could still be ahead of the handicapper given the runner-up has boosted the form since.
The runner-up managed to win on the weekend just gone at Newmarket in a Class 3 race, winning by a neck in a very good handicap race. That horse was 1.25 lengths behind my selection, and Lady Chartwell was pulling away at the finish, so that bodes well for her chances.
GambleAware