Nick’s Picks: Don’t Call My Bluff at Chester

Friday, Chester

BOARDMAN must be primed for a big run in the opener on the final day of Chester’s May Festival (1.30pm). Effective under these conditions, and drawn with options, he absolutely hosed up off just two pounds lower here last summer, and is running nicely into form judged on his Haydock effort last time. As such, 5/2 seems a fair assessment. Fellow course specialist Red Mirage is worth a second look on his first start for a new yard.

BARYSHNIKOV will surely be another track specialist to go well in the 1m2f handicap (2.05pm) at 9/2. The Barrons have maximized his ability, and he’s clearly been trained for the race he won last year under similar conditions off exactly the same mark. The booking of Billy Loughnane is hardly a deterrent, and I would anticipate a bold run after an encouraging performance at Pontefract, where the inside may not have been an advantage. Groundbreaker may be the biggest threat.

FOXES TALES looks a little overpriced at 6/1 in the Huxley (2.40pm) with Point Lonsdale so dominant in the market at the time of writing. I’ll never erase the memory of just how smart this horse looked as a three-year-old, and his record on soft ground is decent enough as it stands. But there has been a suspicion in the interim that he’s been saving a bit, and the two runs this season suggest the gelding operation may have had the desired effect. His most recent win proved him tactically adaptable, and he might just become pretty good this year.

CALL MY BLUFF can win the Chester Cup (3.15pm) at 5/1. Always a nice horse, his career best comeback was even better, seeming to suggest that the influx of talent to the Ffrench Davis stable has had a positive effect on the old inmates as well. He’s able to race from just a fraction higher now at a course where he’s run really well before. Proven at the distance, and apparently well drawn, he has loads in his favour.

MEDIEVAL GOLD is a speculative pick at 7/2 in the maiden (3.45pm). The form standard set here is just okay, so I’m more interested in the selection and King Of The Plains, two very tidily bred newcomers from reliable families. Given his Derby entry, I narrowly favour the Haggas runner, whose breeder has stayed in the horse and was not happy to let him go at 130k as a yearling.