Forza Orta ready to bring down Aztec Empire in the Chester Cup
For those unfamiliar with the nuances of racing stall draws, it perhaps seems bizarre that where a horse starts from is considered more important in a race over two and a quarter miles at Chester than it is over five furlongs at, say, Newmarket.
But the thing with Chester is, it’s not so much the luck of the draw as the luck in running.
A low draw on this tight, saucershaped circuit can be an advantage, but not if you’re boxed in on the rails when the race gets serious, while a wide draw can, with good fortune and jockey nous and patience, be overcome.
Making Miracles, ridden by the Chester magician Franny Norton, won from stall 16 (of 17) in 2019 and every winner since has had a doublefigure draw.
It’s fingers crossed wherever a horse is drawn in the Chester Cup and punters who want to play in this historic handicap – and loads do – are probably best off leaving it out of the equation.
So, in siding with Forza Orta, it’s
not because he’s drawn close to the inside, rather that he has the same chance as one of the favourites, Aztec Empire, on a reliable York form-line last summer, but is trading at twice the price. That was Forza Orta’s first try at two miles and, just as his trainer Kevin Ryan predicted, he saw out the trip really well to open up opportunities in valuable staying handicaps this year, starting with this one.
A Thirsk warm-up over a shorter distance on softer ground than ideal will have blown away the cobwebs and he’s primed to give it his best shot. But he’ll need luck in running.
Ireland have got in on the Chester Cup act in recent years. Falcon Eight won in 2021 and is back for a fourth time, but a more potent threat this time is perhaps old-timer The Shunter, who showed that he is a horse for the big occasion on the Flat as well as the jumps when winning Newmarket’s Cesarewitch last autumn.
This time last year, there were high hopes that Passenger could win a second Derby in a row for veteran trainer Sir Michael Stoute, following the success of Desert Crown in 2022.
It didn’t work out for Passenger at Epsom, but he still has good races in him, starting with today’s Group Two Huxley Stakes.