Plum draw the icing on the cake for Overturn in Chester Cup
Published:A low draw is widely regarded as being imperative in the Chester Cup and this bodes well for favourite Overturn as he prepares for the valuable handicap.
Overturn is 11/2 in the Chester Cup odds and his chances were handed a massive boost when given the plum draw from stall one of the 17 runners.
Donald McCain’s seven-year-old has not been seen on the Flat since trailing home last in the Ebor last August, but there are many reasons to suggest that he will run well.
The draw is particularly important with seven of the last ten winners being placed in either stall nine or less, while seven of the first eight home in the Chester Cup last year were from the lowest seven stalls.
This statistic does not look great for Overturn’s Ebor conqueror Dirar, who is 8/1 and has been drawn in stall 12.
Meanwhile, six of the last ten winners had benefited from at least one previous run in the season and Overturn showed good form to finish third in the Scottish Champion Hurdle last month.
Furthermore, no horse aged over seven has triumphed since 1985 and this effectively rules out Nicky Henderson’s Sentry Duty among others.
However, perhaps most notable is that all of the winners in the last ten years have been trained in the UK and this puts a big line through leading Irish challengers Admiral Barry and Mount Athos, who are 10/1 and 8/1 in the Chester Cup betting respectively.
Tastahil missed out by a head 12 months ago and is 7/1, although his chances are not aided by a greater weight, which is a factor that could be against last year’s winner Mamlook, who is 12/1.
One that could be considered at a bigger price is Montaff, who is 20/1 and arrives at Chester on the back of a victory at Ripon last month.
A £30 stake on Overturn winning the Chester Cup would return £165. New customers can sign up here for a free £30 bet.
