Graeme Rodway's play of the day at Chester
Zoffee
3.40 Chester
The Chester Cup is the feature of the entire week on the Roodee and it’s one of my favourite races of the season. Two and a bit laps around Chester’s tight turns is a unique test for a stayer and some take to it, some don’t.
It’s for that reason why course-and-distance form is at the top of my list when assessing the race and there is one outstanding candidate on that measure this season, and that is Zoffee.
His sole run over course and distance came in this event last year and he ran a remarkable race to finish second behind Metier. Zoffee was beaten just a neck at the line and that was after looping the field on the home turn. The big move he made there left him vulnerable late on.
The eight-year-old is better handicapped than he was last year, racing off a 3lb lower mark of 90, and I’m happy to ignore his last five runs on the Flat and over hurdles. He was beaten more than ten lengths each time, but this would have been the aim and he can bounce back.
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