O’BRIEN PUFFS OUT HIS CHEST

AIDAN O’BRIEN, who has enjoyed plenty of success in Chester over recent seasons, has another strong team set for action at the Roodee this week, starting with six runners today.

O’brien, above, has won eight of the last 11 runnings of the Group 3 Chester Vase, a recognised Derby trial, and will saddle three in the race today when seeking a sixth win in a row– Hunting Horn (Ryan Moore), Flag Of Honour (Seamus Heffernan, inset) and Family Tree (Donnacha O’brien).

And, in the Cheshire Oaks, which he has won three times, Ballydoyle will be represented by Dramatically (Seamus Heffernan) and what he describes as “two smart maidens”, Magic Wand (Ryan Moore) and Forever Together (Donnacha O’brien).

Tomorrow, O’brien’s Chester runners will be Rostropovich (Ryan Moore) and Kenya (Donnacha O’brien) in the Dee Stakes, Idaho in the Ormonde Stakes and the maiden Christopher Robin in a mile and a half handicap.

And he’ll be represented by Kew Gardens (Derby Trial) and runaway Cork winner Flattering (Oaks Trial) at Lingfield on Saturday.

O’brien can choose from Nelson, The Pentagon, Delana Roosevelt and James Cook for Sunday’s Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown and might consider re-routing some of this quartet to the Dante at York next Thursday. Also on Sunday, dual Group 1-winning juvenile US Navy Flag will be O’brien’s main contender for the French 2,000 Guineas in Longchamp while Could It Be Love, an impressive maiden winner at Dundalk, is heading for the fillies classic on the same card.