Totesport Chester Cup betting tips

Chester's May meeting gets under way on Wednesday and the centrepiece of the three-day bonanza, the totesport Chester Cup, looks a difficult puzzle to solve. Even though this prestigious handicap is run over a trip in excess of two and a quarter miles, the draw still tends to have an impact, which is underlined by the fact that eight of the last ten winners have emerged from single-figure berths. Furthermore, while it's not impossible for a horse to come from well off the pace to score, recent stats suggest that you should concentrate on those that race handily. Indeed, the last seven winners all raced up with the pace en route to victory, either making the running or sitting in the leaders' slipstream. The Roodee is a hard track to pull of come-from-behind tactics pretty much over any trip, and being drawn in the car park aboard a horse that needs to be held up is a real test of tactical nous for the jockey. As such, both Paul Hanagan and Kerrin McEvoy will have their work cut out aboard two that otherwise would have leading claims, Greenwich Meantime and Whispering Death, drawn 16 and 15 respectively. The former did extremely well to finish third to Admiral under similar circumstances last year, beaten just over a length. However, while Richard Fahey's charge will be meeting that rival on significantly better terms this time around, he's 10lb higher in the weights himself, so has plenty on his plate on the face of it. Admiral was able to dictate the pace last year and made all from stall one. He's well-drawn again this time, but faces a battle for the lead with the likes of Galient, Dr Sharp and Fair Along in the line-up. If Jamie Spencer rides the last-named on the level as Richard Johnson does over jumps - i.e. going off like a scolded cat - Philip Hobbs' charge will likely lead them a merry dance. He is respected, and represents the trainer-jockey combination which teamed up to land last season's Cesarewitch with Detroit City. But I cannot help being drawn to Galient, who hails from the in-form Michael Jarvis stable, a yard that has sent out the winner of this twice in the last three years. The four-year-old could have been treated more kindly by the draw, as he's in stall 17. However, his rider, Philip Robinson, is a master tactician and given that his mount likes to be up with the action from the outset, I reckon that his wide pitch needn't debar a win this heritage handicap for the son of Galileo, who is a standout 6/1 with VC bet. Although the selection does like to cut out the running, I doubt very much that Robbo will allow his mount to become involved in a war of attrition for the lead, instead allowing Galient to bowl along on the heels of the pacesetters. He shaped well on his reappearance on the all-weather, an outing which will have blown away any remaining cobwebs and teed him up nicely for this assignment. Galient proved his stamina when a cracking third to the classy Soapy Danger in the Group 3 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot last term, has a course victory under his belt, loves top of the ground and is one of the least exposed in the field having had just seven career starts. Consequently, he pretty much argues his own case and, all things being equal, he should win. Aidan O'Brien's runners always merit respect so Grafton Street needs serious consideration. The Danehill colt is lightly raced and open to any amount of improvement, but he has yet to race over further than a mile and a half and, in what is set to be a strongly-run race, his stamina will be tested in no uncertain terms. If his pedigree is anything to go by, he probably won't see the trip out. If Raucous gets a run - he's one of two reserves - the progressive gelding will come firmly into the reckoning on the back of his victory at Ripon on April 28. Needless to say, this is much tougher but with just a 3lb penalty to carry he has to be considered major player, as there is likely to be plenty more to come from the four-year-old. Verdict - 2pts Galient @ 6/1 (Vcbet)