All eyes will be on The Roodee on Thursday for the second day of the 2025 Chester May Festival and our horse racing writer has worked his way through the card on Day 2.
Check out the latest horse racing betting odds for Chester with William Hill ahead of what should be an exciting day of flat action.
If you’re reading this before racing commences on Wednesday, check out our Chester Day 1 tips here.
1.30pm – 5f HANDICAP STAKES
Course and distance winner COPPER KNIGHT almost loves Chester as much as he does York and the veteran can put up another bold show at decent odds.
The fifteen-times winner showed his customary enthusiasm for racing when finishing third at Beverley most recently, and can strip fitter for that run.
Of the others, Dickieburd likes it here and goes off a low weight, while Manila Scouse is dangerous to dismiss given his trainer’s form.
2.05pm – 5f BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF MAIDEN STAKES
There’s plenty of unknowns in this race, which leads me to side with trainers who are in form and Tim Easterby is currently red hot.
Easterby isn’t really known for his two-year-old winners, but when he does land one it usually goes off at a nice price for the punters.
Aclaim-gelding MONICA’S LAD is drawn middle of the pack, and I can see jockey Dave Allan sneaking through late aboard the youngster.
2.35pm – DEE STAKES (Listed Race)
The well-bred ISAMBARD BRUNEL can upset the applecart somewhat and land the Dee Stakes over the 1m2½f trip around the Roodee.
Last season the son of Justify made it third time lucky after failing to score at Newbury and Ascot as he came home well clear of Red King over a mile in the hands of Wayne Lordan as the 1-2 favourite. He immediately emerged as a strong Futurity Stakes candidate, but he never made it to that venue.
Closely related to the former Arc winner Found, this three-year-old looks overpriced at odds of 8/1.
Danger: Calla Lagoon
3.05pm – ORMONDE STAKES (GROUP 3)
ILLINOIS is understandably all the rage in the betting for the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes and it is easy to see why that is the case.
After a season of near misses in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp, the Great Voltigeur at York and the St Leger at Doncaster, Aidan O’Brien handpicked the Prix Chaudenay at Longchamp on Arc weekend as his final target, and the three-year-old duly obliged.
You would like to think that races of this ilk will now be bread and butter affairs for the four-year-old.
3.40pm – 7f HANDICAP STAKES
Jim Crowley can steer the famous colours of the Shadwell Estate to victory aboard EL BURHAN at Chester on Ladies Day.
The New Bay-gelding wasn’t beaten very far in his end of season handicap debut at Goodwood, and will be a much savvier horse this term.
4.10pm – 1m2f HANDICAP STAKES
Formerly trained by Mikel Delzangles in France for the Aga Khan, VALIABAD came to be with Owen Burrows in May of last year and only saw the racecourse once. That was a ninth placed effort at Newbury, with the six-year-old beaten by fourth lengths over a 1m2f trip.
The horse has obviously been beset by problems in the intervening months, but Burrows must feel he’s ready to fire once more, thus making him a speculative each-way pick in our betting market.
4.45pm – 1m4f HANDICAP STAKES
Shadwell are represented on the card again here with their three-year-old gelding MOTAWAARED.
Jim Crowley takes the ride once more and the three-year-old can build upon three decent showings in maiden races, now he switches to handicaps.
*Odds subject to change – prices correct at time of writing*
