John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Wednesday.
Three points of interestShuffle holds the cards from plum draw in Lily Agnes
Chester’s big meeting gets underway on Wednesday with the Lily Agnes Conditions Stakes (13:30) which looks the most competitive two-year-old contest of the season so far, with seven winners among the twelve runners. This will no doubt be the first of several races at the Roodee over the next three days where the draw will prove important, and the one who has landed the plum spot next to the inside rail is Karl Burke’s filly Ali Shuffle.
Burke has a remarkable 69% strike rate with his two-year-olds this spring, 9 of his 13 runners in that age group having won, and Ali Shuffle has contributed two of those victories, winning readily both times in the manner of a very professional filly. She ran out a decisive winner at Redcar on her debut after travelling fluently and had no trouble following up under a penalty in another novice at Beverley nine days later when beating Argentine Tango by three quarters of a length. The runner-up has won since at Pontefract and re-opposes here but is much worse off at the weights this time.
One of several open to improvement, Ali Shuffle heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings and can complete her hat-trick at the expense of another filly, Viamarie, who landed the odds on her debut at Kempton and represents George Boughey who won this with Navello in 2021.
Ballydoyle going for another Oaks-Vase double at Chester
Aidan O’Brien has excellent records in both the Cheshire Oaks (14:35) and the Chester Vase (15:05) and has prospects of landing both races again, a double he has completed five times since 2009, most recently in 2022 when Thoughts of June and Changingoftheguard were the respective winners.
O’Brien has won eight editions of the Cheshire Oaks, and while none of those winners has gone on to success at Epsom, his 2018 runner-up Forever Together did go on to win the Oaks itself after finishing second to stablemate Magic Wand at Chester. This year’s Ballydoyle representative is Minnie Hauk who is one of several fillies in the seven-strong field open to improvement. Minnie Hauk has scope for plenty of progress as this longer trip looks sure to suit the daughter of Frankel who is out of a half-sister to Kingman. Beaten by a future Group 3 winner on her debut last year, Minnie Hauk went one better at Leopardstown later in the autumn when keeping on well over a mile and can win her ‘Hot Trainer’ another Cheshire Oaks.
O’Brien’s record in the Chester Vase reads better still with ten wins, including Ruler of The World in 2013 who followed up in the Derby. O’Brien has two runners in this year’s Vase, and while the blinkered Thrice, the mount of William Buick, has a bit to find, Lambourn has stronger form claims under Ryan Moore. The son of Australia won his first two starts last year, including when sent to Craon in western France for a listed race, before a tame showing in the Beresford Stakes, but he resumed his progress when chasing home better-fancied stablemate Delacroix on his return in the Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown. Lambourn shapes as though the extra couple of furlongs here will suit and he can complete a double on the card for his jockey and trainer.
Wobwobwob well handicapped for Kempton return
There’s a standout at the weights in Kempton’s seven-furlong handicap (19:30) where Adrian Keatley’s gelding Wobwobwob looks very well treated making his first start of the year and his debut on polytrack.
Admittedly, his form dropped off in the autumn and he ended 2024 with a poor effort at Doncaster, so was due to be cut some slack by the handicapper, but a 7 lb drop to a BHA mark of 79 puts him on a potentially very lenient mark. After all, he won the Ayr Silver Cup in 2023 from a mark of 87 and was back on the same mark when winning another competitive six-furlong contest at Thirsk this time last year.
Wobwobwob was visored for those two victories, as he normally is, but has a change of headgear with blinkers fitted for his return under Cieren Fallon who partnered him to success at two. As a result of the handicapper’s leniency, Wobwobwob is fully 6 lb clear in the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings and if there’s strength behind him in the betting, he may well be able to take advantage.
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