Folkswood to fell Chester Rivals
FOLKSWOOD let down favouritebackers at Newmarket last month but should be given chance to redeem himself in the sportingbet.com Huxley Stakes on day two of the May Festival at Chester. Hopes were high that the Godolphin runner could hit the Group Three mark in the Earl of Sefton Stakes as he arrived fit from winter action in Dubai, but he fell short against Steel Of Madrid. Having won once at Meydan during the winter and finished second in a Group One event, William Buick was positive from the off aboard the fouryear-old and looked fully in control coming into the final furlong. However, Steel Of Madrid summoned up quite the finish and Folkswood had no reply, eventually finishing a halflength second with four lengths back to the third. It was still a good effort though and stepping up to 10 furlongs in what is a tight event here, Folkswood should certainly be in the mix at the line. Aidan O’Brien has dominated the MBNA Chester Vase Stakes in recent years, winning five of the last six renewals, and while he fields four of the eight runners here, Count Octave is taken to trump them all. Trained by Andrew Balding, Count Octave is a half-brother to Treasure Beach and the fact he is a son of Frankel only adds to his bluechip pedigree. Connections were clearly in no hurry with this colt who made a late debut at Goodwood last October, chasing home fellow Classic hope Monarchs Glen and recent wide-margin Southwell winner Pealer in third. He then reappeared with a bloodless success in what was essentially a match race at Wolverhampton in March, defying his evident inexperience to win by only three lengths with the minimum of fuss. Obviously Count Octave has much to find with some of the more established performers here, but the very fact Balding has pitched him into a race like this bodes well and there are no doubts about the trip as he is already a 12-furlong winner. Khairaat won two of his three starts last term and he can get 2017 off to a perfect start in the Gateley PLC Changing The Legal Landscape Handicap.