Saturday York and Chester Preview and Tips – DS
Saturday York and Chester and Tips
The ITV cameras will be at Chester, York and Sandown on Saturday. Let’s be honest about it though, Royal Ascot is on everybody’s mind. The fare is far from top class but we at least have a big field heritage handicap at York. Dave Stevos’ is not going to preview every race tomorrow, but he does have a couple of fancies at nice odds. Check out his Saturday York and Chester preview and tips below.
3.20 Chester – Betway Handicap (Class 2)
For front runners a low draw is key at Chester and Dirtyoldtown couldn’t have landed a better starting berth. Grant Tuer’s charge will start from stall 1 and Ollie Stammers will take off 3lbs. By No Nay Never, this soft ground Chepstow maiden winner (7f) bombed out last time at Haydock (8f gd). He never managed to get to the front and it is best to put a line through that tame effort.
Previously, on his handicap debut, Dirtyoldtown ran a cracker at Musselburgh (8f gd/sft). He was racing off 89 that day and he just got reeled in late on. With Stammers’ 3lb claim he is effectively 2lbs lower today and the 3rd at Musselburgh, Desert Angel (who was off 88), franked the form when winning by 4L next time out off 90 and he is now rated 98. The 4th, Atrium, also won next time so it is rock solid form.
Ollie Stammers has an excellent record when riding for Grant Tuer. He has amassed 12 wins and 20 Top 4s from just 76 rides. Tuer has only ever had two runners at Chester and one of them finished 3rd. Hopefully this horse breaks well and grabs the rail. If he does, a bold bid could be on the cards and he is the e/w selection at odds of 16/1.
Saturday York and Chester Tip: Dirtyoldtown e/w @ 16/1 (4 places) NAP
3.40 York – Catherine Memorial Sprint Heritage Handicap (Class 2)
Our only other bet today is in this 6f Heritage Handicap. The one I like at massive odds is Amber Dew. Scott Dixon has his string in good form and I can’t understand why this 3yo filly is chalked up at odds of 80/1. She was trained by Ralph Beckett as a 2yo and she ran well in three novices without winning. The switch to handicap company worked wonders though and she landed a race over 6f at Salisbury (6f gd) on her penultimate start for Beckett.
She beat a horse called Flash Betty by 6L off 74, conceding 8lbs to her. She is now rated 92 so it was a decent performance. Amber Dew was then beat just 2L by the 97 rated Ribhi in a Class 2 conditions race. She was 1.5L behind the 101 rated Witch Hunter and 1L behind Tolstoy (recently placed in a handicap off 92). Surprisingly, the handicapper left her rated 82 after that excellent run and she was bought for 25k at the sales by current connections.
Well Treated
On her first start for Dixon, this filly went very close on the all weather at Southwell off 82. She was then upped to Listed company over 7f at Lingfield and she could never land a blow. Last time out at Chelmsford she ran a massive race over 6f in another Listed heat. This time she was beat just 5L into 5th. The 6th was a head behind Amber Dew and she went close in handicaps off 85 the next twice. Symphony Perfect was 3.75L ahead and she is rated 100. By that reckoning, surely Amber Dew is well treated off 84 on her return to grass.
She has finished 1st and 2nd on her only two handicap starts and the form of both races is rock solid. With Jack Duern’s claim she is effectively in off 81 and this will be her first time back on good ground since she slammed Flash Betty. Jack Duern has 4 wins and 28 Top 4s from 67 rides for Dixon, a near 50% frame hitting strike rate. Unless I am missing something obvious, 80/1 looks a mad price for this filly and if she is doing her best, she is handicapped to run a big race.
