Ryan Moore: Cleveland has a very fair mark and could go well in Chester Cup

Ryan Moore has had a sensational two days at Chester and has a further four rides on the final day of the May meeting, including one taking a huge step up in trip in the feature Chester Cup…

“…I think his mark is probably very fair and the breeding – by Camelot out of an Irish Oaks runner-up – certainly suggests this distance could suit him better than the 1m2f he ran over last time.”

– Ryan Moore on Cleveland

Ran well last time and rain is a boost

13:30 Chester – Boosala

He looks to be fairly handicapped on his efforts at the end of last season, and he ran well enough in what looked to be a messy race at Doncaster on his return. The rain this week is a further boost to his chances, and his draw could have been worse.

More in the locker but he could need this

14:05 Chester – Just Fine

NON-RUNNER

He is a horse who has always shown us a fair bit, and he did just that when winning well at Sandown last season. You couldn’t say he is well handicapped here, as he went up 8lb for that win and was beaten on his final two starts, but he is a relatively lightly-raced 4yo, so hopefully there is more in the locker this season., and a bit of ease in the ground is fine for him. He could just need this, but we will see.

Goes well fresh and can go well if at his best

14:40 Chester – Solid Stone

He didn’t fire at Riyadh back in February but he has had a good break since and he’d be a danger to all of these at his best. He had the pace to win a good race over 1m at Windsor last season and the application of cheek pieces probably saw him improve to win his final two starts of the campaign. He has gone well when fresh in the past, so I reckon he has chances now Al Aasy is out, but Magellan also has strong claims after his Newmarket reappearance.

Can go well off fair mark if taking to the trip

15:15 Chester – Cleveland

He was obviously off for a long time after winning on heavy ground at the Curragh in November 2020 so, with that in mind, I thought he ran a very encouraging fifth in a decent Listed race on his return at Naas last month. The winner has won twice since and my horse just got a bit tired close home, otherwise the run would have looked even better on paper.

It is obviously a huge step up in trip here, so it is a dart into the unknown, but I think his mark is probably very fair and the breeding – by Camelot out of an Irish Oaks runner-up – certainly suggests this distance could suit him better than the 1m2f he ran over last time. And he was quite well-regarded after that Curragh win at two. He will need luck but he could well go if taking to the challenge.