Stoute to shine on Friday
Published:
Midterm backed in the highlight
Followers of our horse racing previews had plenty to shout about on Thursday, with three winners in the bank, including our NAP and next best. Ace play Deauville did as expected in the Huxley Stakes, and that was quickly followed up by Venice Beach, claiming the Chester Vase.
That took our Chester winners for the week to four, and what better way to start the weekend than by building on that with a few more visits to the winner’s enclosure on Friday. Skip to the bottom of this page and you’ll find our best bet in each of the seven races, or read on as we lay-out our top two.
Michael Stoute looks to have a winner
Our standout bet of the day goes in the best race on the card, the 3.35pm Ormonde Stakes. A dozen runners are marked down to contest this group three test, run over one mile five furlongs. Sir Michael Stoute had Poet’s Word beaten a neck in the Huxley Stakes on Thursday, but he looks to have the winner here in Midterm.
The sublimely-bred four-year-old got his career off to a perfect start when winning on debut at Newbury a couple of summers ago in a maiden. That was enhanced with another winning effort at Sandown in the group three Classic Trial, over 1m 2f. An impressive effort from a promising horse, but we’ve not seen much of that since.
Midterm has some making up to do
A second in the group two Prix Neil at Chantilly behind Makahiki stands as his best following that win, but he let punters down last time out at Newbury, ending fifth in another group three, despite going as a rather convincing favourite.
I am going to give Midterm another chance, as there’s certainly bags of potential there, and we saw enough in that last outing, taking away the bare result, that would suggest there’s more to come from him. The challenges of this race should play to his strengths. He goes for a yard with a good record in this sphere, and they’ll have him in expecting a big effort. 4/1 at Coral on Midterm, that makes giving him the benefit of the doubt a bit easier.
We stick with O’Brien and Moore
By the time Midterm goes to post we’ll be hoping to be onto a double, with our chief support in the listed Homeserve Dee Stakes at 2.25pm. 1m 2f lies in front of a competitive nine-runner field, Cliffs Of Moher expected to lead them home.
We have stuck with Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore to good effect this week, and are confident that tactic will pay off again here. The selection signed off 2016 with a straight-forward win at Leopardstown, hacking up in a maiden over seven furlongs. Strung his rivals along from the start, and finished like he had more in the tank, which is promising for backers here.
He’ll face a stiffer test in this one, but the final result should remain the same. Big things are expected of this three-year-old colt, and he can show punters exactly what’s in store with a big effort here. Hot favourite in the betting, and so he should be. One for multiples.
Chester Selections
1.50 – El Hayem
2.25 – Cliffs Of Moher
3.00 – Rosabelle
3.35 – Midterm
4.05 – Gymnaste
4.35 – Judicial
5.05 – Michael’s Mount
