Hugo Palmer: He’s really improved since arriving with us

He’s going to need a bit of luck and for things to fall right for him, but he loves Chester and I think this is his ideal trip, so although he has a couple of challenges to face, I’m hopeful he can run well once again.

Chester 3.52 – Hackman

Again, we’ve been a bit unlucky with the draw for Hackman, which is a bit annoying, but sometimes when the ground is on the soft side it can get a bit chewed up on the rail, so perhaps it’s not as bad as it first seemed.

His sole win came at Chester so we know he handles the track, and he made all on soft ground that day, so although conditions should be fine for him, it will be difficult to employ those tactics here from that draw. Hopefully he can break smartly and get himself into a good position, but again we will need a bit of luck in running.

It is slightly calmer waters here than what he’s been contesting for the majority of the season, and although he seemed to stay 6f at York last time, I don’t think he’ll have any problem coming back in trip here, and hopefully he can finish strongly and deliver his challenge as the race unfolds late on.

Chester 4.25 – Order Of Malta

Order Of Malta has had a bit more luck with the draw than most of our other runners, and he shaped at Newbury last time like he’d relish this step up in trip. The dream is that he might develop into a Chester Cup horse, but the chances are that won’t be next year, and it will be as a five-year-old.

He’s a big horse and he’s strengthened and improved all year, and although this is his first go at Chester, big horses can go well at Chester as Rajinsky has proven on a number of occasions.

He seems in good form at home, so hopefully he can get a good position and get into a nice rhythm and it’s still very early days for him so I’m hopeful there’ll be plenty more improvement to come.

Chester 5.00 – Roman Dragon

Roman Dragon has been raised 3lb for finishing second here last time, and while it seemed harsh at the time, the winner that day went and won a nice race at Ascot last weekend, so maybe it’s not as harsh as it first seemed. The handicapper has had a chance to reassess him but hasn’t put him up further which I do think is fair enough.

He’s a horse who likes to dominate, and his ideal scenario is where he can get out in the lead, take a breather in the middle of the race then kick on turning for home and they never get to him. He’s drawn in stall six of eight, so while it’s not a disaster, I wouldn’t mind a slightly lower draw for us to employ those tactics, but we can’t do anything about that.

He’s now off a mark where he is going to have to produce a career-best, but he does love Chester, and he finds it slightly easier to dominate here over the 6f rather than the shorter trip he’s tackled on his last couple of runs, so I’d be hopeful he can run another big race.

St Leger thoughts

It looks a pretty open race to me, and I would have fancied Gregory, but the fact that Frankie rides Arrest would make me think that perhaps neither of them are good enough to win this.

Aidan O’Brien has four in the race, but it appears Continuous is his main hope here. Write any of Aidan’s horses off at your peril, but it was well publicised that this horse was sold to Hong Kong and then failed the vet, and I can’t believe a trainer of Aidan’s experience would allow a horse that was capable of winning a classic to be sold to Hong Kong, so that would be a good enough reason to make me look elsewhere.

That leads me to where I want to get to which is the King’s horse Desert Hero. Racing benefitted to an enormous extent from the patronage of the late Queen, and if the King were able to win a classic on his first year on the throne, then I think it would cement his enjoyment of the sport for years to come.

My hope is that Desert Hero wins the St Leger, and I think he’s good enough to do so. He’s on the upgrade and he’s done precious little wrong, so he’d be the one I’d side with in what admittedly is a very open race.

Hugo

View the latest horse racing odds