Tag Archive for: Chester Cup

Metier powers home to grab Chester Cup glory

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Metier finished with a flourish to claim top honours in a thrilling renewal of the tote Chester Cup.

A Grade One winner over hurdles a couple of years ago, Harry Fry’s charge successfully reverted to the Flat to lift last season’s November Handicap at Doncaster under Saffie Osborne, who was again on board.

Results under both codes since have been mixed, but having returned to form with a second place in the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh last month, Metier was among the market principals for Chester’s £150,000 showpiece at 5-1 and produced the goods in a grandstand finish.

The seven-year-old was well back in the field for much of the two-and-a-quarter-mile journey, but began to make inroads on the leaders before the home turn and powered up the straight.

Zoffee got the better of a duel with 11-4 favourite Call My Bluff to grab the lead, but was unable to resist the late surge of Metier, who passed the post a neck to the good under his jubilant rider.

Osborne said: “It didn’t really go right through the race, I was too far back and he was all guts.

“I was saying what a tough horse he is, but he’s also extremely talented and still fairly unexposed at this trip on the Flat. You’d like to think there’s more left in the tank.

“He’s just got a lot of ability and for a big horse he’s very well balanced to go round a track like this. I was having to make up ground on a part of a track that I didn’t really want to have to, but he was making it feel very easy and I didn’t want to check his momentum.”

Harry Fry was thrilled with the victory of Metier in the Chester Cup
Harry Fry was thrilled with the victory of Metier in the Chester Cup (John Walton/PA)

Fry, paying his first ever visit to Chester, said: “We’ve had some good runs and near misses in big races, but this means such a lot – it keeps our head above the parapet.

“We knew the draw (stall 14) wasn’t ideal, but Saffie sat as far forward as she could. She’s given him an absolutely wonderful ride.

“Watching him go past here on the final circuit he was 12th, but all he’s done in the straight is keep rolling and rolling.

“He’s shown all his best form on slower ground, but getting the right horses at the right time is really what it boils down to.

“It’s my first time here at Chester and walking round the course I thought ‘what an amazing place’.”

Metier and Saffie Osborne after winning at Chester
Metier and Saffie Osborne after winning at Chester (Neil Morrice/PA)

Ben Curtis, rider of the narrowly beaten runner-up Zoffee, was proud of his performance in defeat.

He said: “That was a hell of a training performance by Hugo (Palmer), to have him near spot-on after seven months off.

“The race went well for us, it was a good battle to the line but possibly the winner might have been more race-fit. Take nothing away from our horse though, he’s run a blinder.”

Falcon Eight back on Chester Cup duty, but with weight and age concerns

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Falcon Eight has been a standing dish in the tote Chester Cup in recent years and Dermot Weld’s 2021 champion is back for another crack at the Roodee marathon.

The eight-year-old recorded a famous victory in the hands of Frankie Dettori off a mark of 104 two years ago before finishing a respectable fifth in defence of his crown off a 5lb higher figure here 12 months ago.

He is 1lb lower this time around with Ryan Moore taking over in the saddle, but the Rosewell House handler is concerned that is still a hefty weight to shoulder.

“He’s got a big weight to carry, 9st 12lb and he’s rated 4lb higher than when he won it. He’s also two years older so it’s a difficult task to be honest,” said Weld.

Falcon Eight (left) running in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot
Falcon Eight (left) running in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot (David Davies/PA)

“He’s very well and I expect him to run well. He usually always runs a good race, but he’s two years older than when he won it previously and he has 4lb more to carry. But the horse himself is in very good form.”

Rajinsky was third last year and claimed the scalp of Trueshan at Nottingham earlier this season. He is one of two in the race for Hugo Palmer, who envisages his charge bouncing back from his Sagaro Stakes disappointment now back on an easier surface.

“Rajinsky seems in good form, the ground got too quick for him at Ascot the other day but any rain will help him,” said Palmer.

“He ran so well in the race last year and his run at Nottingham would put him up there with a pretty good chance.”

Rajinsky and Harry Davies (orange) coming home to win the Barry Hills Further Flight Stakes at Nottingham
Rajinsky and Harry Davies (orange) coming home to win the Barry Hills Further Flight Stakes at Nottingham (Joe Giddens/PA)

The Manor House Stables handler is also represented by the reappearing Zoffee who was last seen finishing fourth in the Cesarewitch.

“Zoffee wouldn’t want the ground to get too soft,” continued Palmer.

“He had a really good year (last season), in my mind our main target with him would be trying to add the Northumberland Plate to the Northumberland Vase he won last year.

“We’ve got to start off somewhere and he’s ready to go so we’re looking forward to running him.”

Another handler double-handed is Richard Hughes who has called for one of his old weighing-room colleagues Jamie Spencer to partner Calling The Wind, while one of the newest names among the riding fraternity, Billy Loughnane, removes 3lb off Bascule.

The former finished a place ahead of Falcon Eight when third in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot and has dropped to the same rating he finished third off in the 2021 Cesarewitch.

“I think Calling The Wind is well in,” said Hughes. “I beat the favourite over two and a half miles at Ascot off level weights and I think I have him pretty good. He has had his prep race and that went well.

“I’m very hopeful he will have a good run round. He ran a very good race under Jamie Spencer in the November Handicap (in 2021), I think he will suit him.”

Calling The Wind winning the Betfred “Thanks To The NHS” Handicap at Ascot
Calling The Wind winning the Betfred “Thanks To The NHS” Handicap at Ascot (Francesca Altoft/PA)

He went on “I thought taking 3lb off Bascule might help him.

“If you worked the two of them at home you wouldn’t say that Calling The Wind could give him that much weight. It may be a different story on the track but he always runs a good race does Bascule.”

Handed a plum draw in stall two is Dominic Ffrench Davis’ Call My Bluff, who bumped into the progressive Novel Legend on seasonal bow at Newbury, but has some smart course form to his name.

“He’s got a very obvious chance,” said the handler. “He loves Chester, loves soft ground and has a very good draw.

“He needed the run first time out (at Newbury), he looked like he had set sail for home and then just tired a bit which let the Fanshawe horse (Novel Legend) in a little bit.”

Getting the better of Call My Bluff in the Watergate Cup over track and trip last term was Emiyn who has since placed in the November Handicap and run respectably in Musselburgh’s Queen’s Cup before an underwhelming effort at Thirsk most recently.

Trainer Declan Carroll is confident he can bounce back from that and said: “We’ve been pleased with him and he has been training well.

“He has to bounce back from a disappointing effort his last run, but we’ve been happy with him since that. He will like the ground and any more rain that will come will not inconvenience him at all.

“He has a good draw which can only be an advantage because he goes forward in his races. He’s a keen-going sort and he likes to go forward. It’s a very competitive race as it should be at this level but we’re looking forward to it anyway.”

One guaranteed to relish testing conditions on the Roodee is Harry Fry’s mud-loving Metier – who has always had this contest on his radar.

Fry said: “We’ve been working towards this albeit fully aware we would need conditions to suit, so I was delighted to see it raining heavy there and conditions have come in our favour.

“He ran a great race behind Wise Eagle who was runner-up in the Sagaro Stakes at Musselburgh in the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh and the step up in trip here is a positive.

“He is really well in himself and we’re looking forward to him taking his chance.”