'This has been the plan since Cheltenham and he's been training great' - insight from connections for the Chester Cup

The remarkable rise of James Owen up the ranks continues at pace and the Newmarket-based trainer seems to be able to win with anything, over jumps and on the Flat. He has trained Flat winners from 5f to 2m-plus, but it’s over the longer distances where his runners really excel.

Owen has saddled 45 winners from 193 runners over 1m4f-plus since he started training and that 23 per cent strike-rate has translated to a profit of £12.10 to £1 level stakes. His runners must be given serious respect in this test of stamina and none more so than East India Dock. 

It’s less than two months since he went off a red-hot 5-4 favourite to land the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and he looked near-certain to do it when in front over the last. However, he was overhauled by Poniros and Lulamba after hitting 1.26 in running on Betfair.

It was still a career-best effort from East India Dock, who went from strength to strength over hurdles last winter and is now rated 147 in that sphere. A mark of just 89 back on the Flat could underestimate his ability and he is a nippy little horse, who should be suited by Chester.

Mamlook (2010), Overturn (2011), Ile De Re (2012), No Heretic (2016) and Zoffee last year are the five horses since 2010 to have won the Chester Cup after running over hurdles on their last start and 46 tried. That is an 11 per cent win-rate, for a £1.50 profit to level stakes.

Charging Thunder is Owen’s other runner, but this race looks made for East India Dock to exploit his Flat rating and stall six will give him a golden opportunity. 

Hot Fuss is another who was last seen over hurdles and comes here having finished fourth in the Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival. He is 23lb lower than East India Dock over hurdles, but has to give him 4lb on the Flat and that shows how well treated that rival may be.

The other nine Chester Cup winners since the start of 2010 had competed on the Flat last time and there were 175 qualifiers. That group this year is headed by the potential improvers Leinster, Who’s Glen and Caballo De Mar, who has been a sensation on the all-weather.

Caballo De Mar has won five on the spin and four in a row at Southwell, but his quintet of victories started on turf at Ayr and that proves he handles grass. The question is: can he reproduce his very best form on the surface? He is well handicapped if he does just that.

Caballo De Mar is due to run off a mark of 93 in future, but competes off just 88 under a 3lb penalty for his wide-margin victory at Southwell 12 days ago and if there is a blot on the handicap that doesn’t go by the name of East India Dock, then it’s probably this four-year-old.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

East India Dock ready to set sail

Even in the trickiest of races there are sometimes contenders whose claims are so abundantly clear.

The Chester Cup is racing's version of the lottery but trainer James Owen had the ticket bought for East India Dock well in advance, with this the target since his close-up third in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Those exploits can be viewed as a positive in a race featuring plenty of winners with hurdling experience and, furthermore, East India Dock had a progressive Flat campaign last year for previous trainer James Fanshawe.

"This has been the plan since Cheltenham and he's been training great," said Owen. "He was progressive on the Flat before he went hurdling and he's done so well hurdling. Hopefully, he's on a nice mark. 

"It's a different track to what he's run on before, so that's a little question mark. He's been handed quite a nice draw [stall six] and fingers crossed, he's going to run a big race."

East India Dock: Triumph Hurdle third bids for Chester Cup gloryCredit: Edward Whitaker

Owen has another dual-purpose performer in Charging Thunder and believes the seven-year-old is capable of outrunning his big odds.  

"I could see him running a good race as the make-up of it will really suit him and he's going to like the dry ground," he said.

"There was no pace in the race at Southwell last time and he needs a good gallop to aim at. He's not got a great draw [16] but he's a hold-up horse and we've changed up the headgear in the hope the visor can eke out a bit of improvement." 

Palmer sweet on Zoffee repeat bid

Zoffee can count himself unfortunate not to be bidding for a unique feat in the historic race.

Last year's winner was beaten only a neck the year before and were it not for that, he would be bidding to become the Chester Cup's first three-time winner.

Zoffee handed Michael Owen's nearby Manor House stables a cherished success last year and returns on a 1lb higher mark but with Joe Leavy taking off 3lb.

Trainer Hugo Palmer said: "I couldn’t be happier with him. He’s got a nice draw [stall four] in a race that he's run brilliantly in twice. He loves it around Chester and how the races set up for him. I hope he can get as lucky as he did last year."

What they say

Joseph O’Brien, trainer of Leinster and Dawn Rising
Leinster won nicely in the Curragh last time and steps up in trip. He's an unexposed, progressive stayer and if he copes with the track he should run a nice race. Dawn Rising unfortunately has quite a bad draw [15] but he is an experienced horse and we are hoping he can run a nice race.

Harry Eustace, trainer of Divine Comedy
She seems fine. It was not a genuinely run two miles at Ascot last week and it was probably just as much a racecourse gallop for her, so we were keen to roll the dice again. Her draw in seven is fine and from there hopefully there's not too many decisions Kaiya Fraser has to make early on. After that, you need racing luck.

Michael Bell, trainer of Duke Of Oxford
He has not been given the kindest draw [14], but he's in good form and I'm sure he'll give a good account of himself. There are a few less-exposed horses in there, but if he gets a bit of luck in running he might get a slice of the action.

Andrew Balding, trainer of Who's Glen and Spirit Mixer
Who’s Glen ran a very good race in the Queen’s Prize and he’s a course winner, although in very different conditions. I can’t see why he wouldn’t be effective on fast ground, but it’s a question mark the first time he tries it. Spirit Mixer has very good course form and he’s very effective on faster ground. He will hopefully have come on for his run at Newbury last month and this has always been his intended target. He ran very disappointingly last year when he had a horrible draw in 17 and had to sit last.

Tom Dascombe, trainer of Hot Fuss
He's got a great draw [three] but he doesn't have the ground, as he wants it soft. I think he'll run, though, and he's in great shape and has had a nice break since Cheltenham, where he ran well. He should run a big race.

Declan Carroll, trainer of Emiyn
He always seems to run very well at Chester. He's got a good draw [two] if he's able to take advantage of it as he has been known to be slightly slow away sometimes. We're very happy with him, he's trained well and he had a good prep run at Musselburgh. He was unlucky not to win last year. This has been the plan for him.

George Scott, trainer of Caballo De Mar
He's due to go up a further 8lb and he doesn't have to run off his new mark, he just has a 3lb penalty. He's well drawn and he seems in very good form. Going back to turf isn't a concern and he clearly enjoys going left-handed.
Reporting by Andrew Dietz

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