William Hill Chester Cup betting

There’s always value to be had in a big field handicap, and you can count on Chester Cup betting galore all the way to starters orders at William Hill.

Originally established in 1824 as the Tradesmen’s Cup, the race was renamed the Tradesman’s Plate and the Chester Trades’ Cup before settling on its current moniker in the late 19th Century.

Countless have tried, but only nine horses have managed multiple Chester Cup victories since the event’s inception, the most recent double coming in successive seasons courtesy of Michael Jarvis’ Anak Pekan in 2004 and 2005.

Barry Hills holds the record of four Chester Cup victories as a trainer, thanks to Araphos, Rainbow High (twice) and Daraahem, the now-retired handler’s last success in 2009.

Long-retired racing legend Lester Piggott is still the Chester Cup’s top jockey, also with four wins, and these records are unlikely to fall for some time given the open nature of this valuable handicap.

Stick with William Hill for every Chester Cup betting market move in the build up to the May Festival.

Chester Cup betting - trainers to watch

Given the race’s 2m2f distance, it’s unsurprising to see the roll call of winners including horses from stables normally associated with National Hunt racing.

Donald McCain - who saddled Ballabriggs to Grand National glory in 2011 and has trained multiple Cheltenham Festival winners - took the Chester Cup two years in a row with Overturn and Il De Re in 2011 and 2012.

National Hunt maestros Nicky Henderson, David Pipe and Ian Williams have also struck Chester Cup gold in recent renewals.

Williams’ 2018 winner Magic Circle gave the Birmingham-based National Hunt specialist his second Chester Cup victory a decade after his first with 33/1 outsider Bulwark.

Dermot Weld, so often a winner at the Galway Races, has seen Silver Concorde and Zafayan both finish third in recent Chester Cup runnings.

The veteran Irishman doesn’t send many horses to the Cheshire track these days, so any movements for Weld’s horses in the Chester Cup betting markets should be keenly monitored.

Aidan O’Brien has only entered a handful of horses into the Chester Cup over the past decade or so, with fifth-placed Harrison’s Cave proving the best of them in 2012.

Chester Cup betting - jockeys to watch

Jim Crowley - who began his career as a National Hunt rider - has managed multiple Chester Cup victories, with former Grand National-winning rider Graham Lee also off the mark in the Group Three.

Jamie Spencer has a couple of Chester Cup winners’ medals to his name after steering home Address Unknown for Richard Fahey in 2013 and Nicky Henderson’s No Heretic three years later.

Oisin Murphy already has an enviable record in this race, with the young Irishman victorious aboard Montaly in 2017 and second 12 months later on Fun Mac, having finished third in his only other ride courtesy of Communicator in 2014.

Unlike his Ballydoyle boss, Ryan Moore makes an appearance at the Chester Cup most years, with the pre-eminent horseman of his day lifting the prize aboard Sueigoo for trainer Marco Botti in 2014.

Chester Cup betting trends to follow

Going into the Chester Cup in good form isn’t necessarily an advantage, with the majority of winners since the start of this century failing to land the spoils in their last outing, and most not even securing a place.

The Chester Cup is open to horses aged four-years-old and over, but very few four-year-olds manage to claim the prize - Trip to Paris was the first for six years in 2015.

Over the past decade or so, the average age of Chester Cup winners has been close to six, with 2016 victor No Heretic the first eight-year-old to land the spoils since 1985.

The vast majority of recent Chester Cup winners carried under 9st 3lbs to victory, Montaly proving a stark exception with 9st 6lbs on his back in 2017.

Only one favourite - 7/1 shot Mamlook in 2010 - has managed to justify that status with a win since Anak Pekan landed a 2/1 Chester Cup betting gamble six years earlier.

Unsurprisingly in a handicap that often attracts fields of 15 or more horses, Chester Cup betting riches abound if your luck is in, with double-figure winners’ odds the norm since the mid-noughties.

That being said, only three winners have returned odds over 16/1 since the mid-1980s, with Ian Williams’ Bulwark and Alan Bailey’s 1988 outsider Old Hubert the big outliers at 33/1 apiece.

Visit news.williamhill.com to follow all the latest Chester Cup betting.