Friday sees the 2025 Boodles May Festival conclude as Chester Racecourse sends us into the weekend in style. As the highest class race of the week, the Group 2 Huxley Stakes tops the bill for purists on Day 3. However, the big betting heat arrives in the shape of the staying handicap that is the Chester Cup.
A dizzying two laps of the ever-so-round Roodee track await the contenders in this 2m2½f event, which offers £170,000 in total prize money. First run in 1824 at the oldest continually operating track in this (or any other) land, the Chester Cup continues to light up the lives of springtime racegoers.
With the latest edition of this historic event hurtling into view, Wednesday morning saw the confirmation of the final field. Seventeen runners and riders set out in pursuit of glory in 2025, headed by a horse from the yard of one of the most promising dual-purpose trainers in the game.
East to Dock in Winners Enclosure?
Having headed the market in the weeks leading up to the race, a handy draw in stall 6 did nothing to dissuade punters that East India Dock is the most likely 2025 Chester Cup hero.
Sporting the Gredley Family silks, this ex-James Fanshaw runner joined the James Owen operation in October 2024. Having reached a mark of 90 on the level, the four-year-old took to hurdles like a duck to water. Kicking off with a cosy win at Wincanton, he sauntered to success twice around Cheltenham, with his winning streak only ending with a fine third in the Triumph Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
Whilst the core National Hunt campaign is all done for another year, East India keeps rolling as he reverts to his first calling as a flat performer. Now rated 147 over timber, he races off 90 here, which is only seven pounds higher than when claiming a Goodwood Handicap over two miles in September. This classy performer heads the betting at a general price of 4/1.
Look Out for Leinster with Moore in the Saddle
If East India Dock fails to deliver, James Owen has fair second and third strings to his bow in Liam Swagger and Charging Thunder. However, as is so often the case in leading British races, the home team must repel a potent Irish challenge.
In 2025, the hopes of the Emerald Isle rest solely on the shoulders of Joseph O’Brien. With not one but two Melbourne Cup trophies in the cabinet, the son of the greatest trainer of the modern era knows what it takes to claim a major staying handicap. Joseph relies on two as he bids to follow in the footsteps of his father, Aidan, who claimed the 2022 edition of this with Cleveland.
As a Royal Ascot winner, the JP McManus-owned Dawn Rising merits plenty of respect. However, the market suggests Leinster is the most likely of the Joseph O’Brien duo to prevail. Going in the capable hands of two-time Chester Cup winner Ryan Moore, this son of Camelot falls firmly into the unexposed category. Raced only four times to date, he has won two of those outings, including a smooth success at the Curragh on his recent return from a 270 break. If handling his first crack at more than two miles, many will be willing to bet that he is a little better than a mark of 91. Drawn inside East India Dock in stall 5, he is available to back at a general price of 6/1.
Double Figure Draws for Balding Duo
Whilst East India Dock and Leinster earned favourable berths at this inside-favouring track, Andrew Balding didn’t enjoy such luck with his two contenders, Who’s Glen and Spirit Mixer. That said, punters remain keen on the claims of Who’s Glen, who will have the assistance of Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy. A 13-length winner on his only previous visit to Chester, he finished a solid second on his comeback outing at Kempton, which should tee him up nicely for this.
RACE 6 RESULT: The Camden Town Brewery Handicap Stakes
🥇Who’s Glen
🥈Far L’Amore
🥉The Crafty MoleJockey: @_JasonWatson
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Owner: Mr George Strawbridge📸 @offphoto pic.twitter.com/JJmbJIS6A5
— chesterraces (@ChesterRaces) September 13, 2024
Whilst a draw in 10 is initially off-putting, two winners have emerged from this stall since 2000, suggesting it may not be the disadvantage it appears. Spirit Mixer is wider still in 13, but is only two pounds higher than when scoring at this track in September.
Defending Champ and Red Hot Caballo also In The Mix
The Chester Cup is no stranger to a repeat winner, with Anak Pekan (2004 and 2005) the latest of nine horses to double up in the track’s signature event. Bidding to add his name to that list in 2025 is the Hugo Palmer-trained Zoffee. He’s without a win since that success, but is only a pound higher this year and nicely drawn in 4.
Those looking to support an in-form contender are likely to side with the George Scott runner, Caballo De Mar. Kicking off with a win off a mark of 64 at Ayr in September, he recently made it five in a row at Southwell, when defying a mark of 85. Now 5lb well in under his three-pound penalty for that effort, he seems sure to prove popular at around the 13/2 mark.
All in all, a compelling edition awaits. But who will come home in front?
