William Hill Chester Vase betting

It’s one of the big Derby trials heading into Epsom, and you can count on William Hill for all the Chester Vase betting required to take on this crucial Group Three tussle.

The Chester Vase has been running since 1907 - with the inaugural race finishing a rare dead heat - and was originally for three and four-year-olds before being restricted to the former in 1959.

For some of the top colts of their generation, the Chester Vase is the first chance to test themselves over the 1m4f distance required for Classic glory later in the summer.

As you’d expect, Aidan O’Brien and Ballydoyle stables have been the biggest players in this arena of late, with the Wexford-born supremo now the leading trainer in Chester Vase history, but it doesn’t always work out to plan later in the summer.

Only one horse has managed to win here and take the Derby since the 1930s, although Chester Vase runner-up Wings of Eagles went onto land at Epsom in 2017.

You won’t miss a moment of Chester Vase betting action at William Hill, with all the odds you need ahead of the big day out in leafy Cheshire.

Chester Vase betting - trainers to watch

Over the past decade or so, Aidan O’Brien and Ballydoyle have treated the Chester Vase as their own private Epsom Derby trial, often going mob-handed - particularly in recent years - with three or four entrants at a time.

However, Ruler of the World in 2013 is the only Ballydoyle horse to have followed up Chester Vase success with Epsom glory, and as 7/1 Derby third favourite at that.

Venice Beach, US Army Ranger, Hans Holbein, Orchestra, Treasure Beach, Golden Sword and Soldier of Fortune all went on to fluff their lines in Surrey.

The only other trainers with Chester Vase-winning form in the book over the past decade or so are Richard Fahey, who took the laurels with Mickdaam in 2012, and William Haggis with Young Rascal in 2018, snapping a five-year string of Ballydoyle victories.

Prior to saddling Young Rascal to success, Haggis’ most recent Chester Vase runner, 33/1 shot Dwight D, ran to his odds by finishing dead last - more than 21 lengths behind winner US Army Ranger - in 2016.

Sir Michael Stoute tasted Chester Vase success twice in three years between 2006-08, with Papal Bull and Doctor Fremantle, but the veteran hasn’t had a strong contender for more than a decade.

Chester Vase betting - jockeys to watch

Ryan Moore racked up his first Chester Vase victory all the way back in 2008 on Stoute’s Dr Fremantle, and the Brighton-born horseman supreme has been aboard for all of O’Brien’s winners since.

Moore already holds the record for Chester Vase victories in the saddle, and given his continued association with the Ballydoyle operation, where he has first choice of some of the best three-year-old colts and geldings from the current crop, he looks sure to win more.

James Doyle’s 2018 victory aboard 10/3 second favourite Young Rascal came in his third Chester Vase outing, with the Cambridgeshire rider finishing last in both his previous attempts on 3/1 shot Future Empire in 2015 and 100/1 outsider Solo Choice six years earlier.

Franny Norton has been close to Chester Vase glory twice in recent renewals, with second placed Storm the Stars finishing under two lengths behind Hans Holbein in 2015, and Dee Ex Bee losing by just half a length to Young Rascal three years later.

Chester Vase betting - trends to follow

Aidan O’Brien’s run of five Chester Vase wins on the spin from 2013-17 was made even more remarkable by the fact that all the winners were favourites, with 4/11 hotpot US Army Ranger the shortest priced of the quintet in 2016.

Even before that run, Chester Vase betting favourites tended to do well, with Sir Michael Stoute’s triumphant duo Papal Bull and Doctor Fremantle both heading the market prior to their successes.

Indeed, the only Chester Vase winner to return double-figure odds over the past decade and a half was Golden Sword, a 25/1 dark horse for O’Brien and jockey Colm O’Donoghue.

The vast majority of recent Chester Vase winners had a run earlier in the campaign, with most breaking their duck for the season prior to heading to the North West.

One or more cracks at the 1m4f trip or further prior to the race is a plus, and around half of recent Chester Vase winners had triumphed over at least the Derby distance beforehand.

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