The key questions as St Leger hero Kew Gardens returns to action in the Ormonde

3.35 Chester
Boodles Diamond Ormonde Stakes (Group 3) 1m5½f | 4yo+ | ITV4/Sky

St Leger winner Kew Gardens provides the star quality, not just to this historic Group 3 but the entire May meeting, as he sets out on a season that promises so much.

Kew Gardens carries a 7lb penalty for his victory in the Doncaster Classic but has an undoubted class edge over his five rivals, none of whom have won at higher than Group 3 level.

The manner in which Kew Gardens powered to victory in the St Leger suggests Aidan O'Brien may be able to extract further improvement from the Galileo colt this season, and he starts out in a race his trainer has won four times.

O'Brien also saddles Cypress Creek, who won a Group 3 at Naas before finishing last of six in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot.

"Kew Gardens has done well since last season and is in good form," the trainer said. "Both of them are just ready to start. Ideally, we wouldn't want it too soft for Kew Gardens whereas Cypress Creek handles ease well."

The meeting kicked off on good to soft ground on Wednesday and, delivering an update on conditions, clerk of the course Andrew Morris said: "The ground held at good to soft through the afternoon. The rain stopped at around 1pm and there were just a couple of showers after. There is no rain forecast overnight, with showers possible tomorrow morning, and we are leaving the ground as good to soft."

Will Chester Cup winner Magic Circle take his chance?

A decision about whether Magic Circle runs in the Ormonde or is held back for Friday's SportPesa Chester Cup – for which he was declared the topweight on Wednesday – will be made on Thursday morning.

Trainer Ian Williams will assess the ground for last year's Chester Cup winner and providing conditions are deemed soft enough, Magic Circle will take his chance against Kew Gardens.

"My intention is to run him in the Ormonde," said Williams on Wednesday. "The rain is important to him and should it not arrive, there would potentially be a change of plan and he'd run in the Chester Cup. It's very unlikely he'll do both but he loves the track. The ground is paramount to allow him to perform at his best.

"There has been a wet start at Chester, but we know it can dry very quickly and get wet very quickly. Marwan Koukash was very keen to keep his options open and we'll make a decision tomorrow morning when we know what the weather has done."

Magic Circle, who will be ridden by former champion jockey Jim Crowley for the second time, has had only two runs since winning the Chester Cup 12 months ago. He won the Henry II Stakes at Sandown two weeks later and was then below par when sent off second favourite for the Melbourne Cup in November.

"He was campaigned sparingly last year after qualifying for the Melbourne Cup," said Williams. "We kept him for that race but things didn't work out for him and he broke a blood vessel in the race.

"He's had a good winter break and worked very nicely at Haydock last week. He did very well first time out at the track in the Chester Cup last year and is ready to start his season."

Will Morando stay the distance?

Andrew Balding is a trainer to be feared at Chester and his contender Morando should not be underestimated if returning in the same form he ended last season.

Owned by King Power Racing, the six-year-old finished 2018 on a high when dead-heating with Young Rascal in the Group 3 St Simon Stakes.

"He should love the ground and it looked like he stayed the mile and a half well at Newbury last time," said Balding. "Whether he can stay another furlong and a half is a question mark but it's worth a go. He seems in good form and did win at the track when with Roger Varian."

Can the two outsiders get involved?

Jane Chapple-Hyam is targeting some place money with Dalgarno, who switches to turf after making his debut for the trainer at Kempton last month.

"I don't think anyone will beat Kew Gardens but there's second and third place up for grabs," she said. "I was pleased with his run at Kempton, he will come on for it and loves soft ground."

The field is completed by front-running mare Warnaq, who was third in a Listed race at Cork last month.

Trainer Matthew Smith said: "She looks up against it and is facing a tough task on paper, but we've nothing to lose and decided to give it a shot. More rain would help as she likes easy ground."

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