Rocket Man ready for take-off at Chester
Such is the pace of the Flat racing’s menu at this time of year that the Guineas meeting still lingers on the palate as the next Classic course is being served.
Aidan O’Brien still has 38 entries for the Derby and the latest of the Ballydoyle battalions to be tried is Rocket Man, who runs in the Group Three MBNA Chester Vase at Chester today.
Given the number of colts that the trainer has to work through it is likely that he will have runners in as many of the Derby and Oaks trials that he can manage but he has won this race twice in the last three years – with Soldier Of Fortune and Golden Sword in 2007 and 2009 respectively - and Rocket Man has solid credentials.
He was not pushed too hard on his sole run last season, when sixth in a Navan maiden last October, and showed that he had progressed over the winter when he broke his maiden at the Curragh early last month. That could prove vital because most of the O’Brien winners this spring have had the benefit of a previous run.
The main threat should come from Critical Moment and Morana, both of whom ran in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket last month. Critical Moment finished five lengths third to Elusive Pimpernel, with Morana another three-and-a-half lengths away in fifth, which looks better form than Icon Dream, who was sixth in a Group Three race at Leopardstown three weeks ago.
If the markets are used as a guide then Rocket Man may not represent the best that O’Brien has to offer from his Derby candidates but, given the depth of resources the trainer has to call upon, he clearly believes that the colt will not let him down.
The idiosyncrasies of Chester mean that horses with winning form on the track have to be respected when returning. South Easter (pictured) won the Dee Stakes over course and distance last year and can follow up in the Group Three Betfair Huxley Stakes.
In the Dee he beat Gitano Hernando by a head and that form looks good given that Gitano Hernando went on to win a Grade One in the United States last autumn. South Easter had just one more run last season but came back to win a Listed race on the Polytrack at Kempton Park in March.
The fourth in that race, Honimiere, did the form no harm by running Strawberrydaiquiri to a head in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on Sunday. The obvious form threat is Redwood, beaten just a head by Glass Harmonium in the Group Three Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown Park 12 days ago.
That was Redwood’s first run since beating only one home in the Dante Stakes last May, and there has to be a chance of a bounce factor in running again quite so soon.
A strike-rate of 21% with his runners at Chester makes Michael Jarvis a trainer to follow and a 26% strike-rate since the beginning of April simply underlines the point when Almiqdaad runs in the Cordija Renaissance Handicap. He won a valuable handicap at Newbury last September, shaped well on his reappearance run at Ripon and last month and still appears to be on the right side of the handicapper going into this race.
The first day of the meeting emphasised how much of a factor the draw can be and Niran can make the most of stall one in the Boodles Diamond Eternity Handicap.
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