After the dominance of the boys in blue at Newmarket over the weekend, it’s time to get some Derby and Oaks clues at Chester’s Boodles May Festival.

Before the showpiece Chester Cup on Friday, we look at the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes as eight line up to try to take a step up the Derby ladder.

Get the best horse racing odds from the best online betting sites here.

Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes runner by runner betting guide- 1m4f

4 Lambourn (7)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 115-2
• Rating: 103
• Jockey: Ryan Moore
• Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
• Odds: 9/4

Going by the market and what is usually the norm with Aidan O’Brien’s runners on their first start of their career, not much was expected from Lambourn, but he defied his 6/1 odds when getting the better of next time out winner J’Adore Chris at Killarney.

He finished off his two-year-old season with a well-beaten last of five in the Beresford Stakes but has come back this season with a much-improved effort when chasing home his stablemate and odds-on favourite Delacroix in the Ballysax Stakes. Now, I would not be getting carried away with that run as Delacroix would have been nowhere near his peak, and it’s whether he can come forward for that run enough to get the better of his rivals here.

What he has in his favour is that Aidan O’Brien has won eight of the last 13 runnings of this race and has to be given massive respect, but I see Lambourn being vulnerable today.

Star rating:

Bet on Lambourn for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

7 Square D’Alboni (5)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 9111-
• Rating: 108
• Jockey: Hector Crouch
• Trainer: Ralph Beckett
• Odds: 5/1

Ever since getting beaten on debut last season, Square D’Alboni hasn’t looked back, winning his next three starts (plenty of winners behind him on each start). He showed enough speed to win over 7f at a track like Epsom, and that experience should stand for him as he takes on the tight Chester track.

Square D’Alboni saw out 1m1f on deep ground when comfortably taking a listed race at Chantilly at the end of last season so the step up in trip will hold no fear. This son of Zarak, who himself was a Group 1 winner over this trip, looks set to take another big step up the ladder here as further improvement seems assured. If he can get away on the front end, he could prove hard to get by on a track that favours horses on the pace.

Star rating:

Bet on Square D’Alboni for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

1 Convergent (3)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 1-1
• Rating: 94
• Jockey: Sam James
• Trainer: Karl Burke
• Odds: 11/2

Convergent comes in here with a perfect two-from-two record and looks like a horse with a bright future. He won well on debut at Redcar, but the form of that race hasn’t worked out well, with only two of the 14 runners going on to win since.

He still looked raw and green on his comeback when taking care of much inferior opposition back at Redcar, but this time over 1m2f. He needs to take a big step forward here, but given his greenness, he should have so much more to offer, but he wouldn’t want to show that he hasn’t learnt anything from his latest run, or the race will be over for him before it even starts.

Star rating:

Bet on Convergent for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

6 Pinhole (1)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 51-
• Rating: –
• Jockey: Rossa Ryan
• Trainer: Ralph Beckett
• Odds: 6/1

After a promising run on his only start for the now retired Sir Michael Stoute, Pinhole got off the mark for Ralph Beckett for the first time asking when taking care of future winner Dixieland Blues. That run was full of promise, and once the penny dropped inside the final furlong, Pinhole pulled clear to win eased down.

There is no end to knowing how good this son of Frankel can be, and he is one that I see playing a big hand now that he has gotten a win under his belt. He has to concede race fitness, but Ralph Beckett stable has been going great guns so far this season and has sent out two first-time out winners in the past four days. The only light worry is the trip, as he is not guaranteed to want this far, but even if Pinhole doesn’t get the job done today, he will be worth following this season.

Star rating:

Bet on Pinhole for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

8 Thrice (2)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 341-
• Rating: 102
• Jockey: William Buick
• Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
• Odds: 10/1

Thrice has some decent form to call upon from last season, but that was over much shorter trips than he will face today. His debut third is working out well, but it is his final run of last season that does not fill me with confidence that he will be seen to his best over 1m4f.

He is by Wootton Bassett out of an unraced Galileo mare, whose only other foal has been well beaten over this trip. That said, it does not necessarily mean the same will happen for Thrice, but given his sire side, he may be seen to better effect over shorter, which he has already shown.

Star rating:

Bet on Thrice for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

3 Furthur (8)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 72-1
• Rating: 87
• Jockey: Jason Watson
• Trainer: Andrew Balding
• Odds: 11/1

There was no luck for Furthur on his first two starts as a two-year-old over 1m, but he made no mistake on his return when getting the better of the well-backed John & Thady Gosden newcomer at Newbury over 1m3f. That was a big step on anything that Furthur achieved last season and given that his sire Waldgeist got better with age, the same looks to be on the cards with Furthur, especially now tackling 1m4f.

Andrew Balding likes to target this meeting, and with that run under his belt, Furthur could have a big part to play in the finish, and he looks a good each-way alternative.

Star rating:

Bet on Furthur for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

5 Lazy Griff (4)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 20131-
• Rating: 101
• Jockey: Joe Fanning
• Trainer: Charlie Johnston
• Odds: 14/1

Having raced five times as a two-year-old, there is no experience excuse for Lazy Griff coming in here, and that experience paid dividends when winning a Group 3 from the front at Chantilly on his final two-year-old start.

He looks to be the one who will go forward with Square D’Alboni, and is not totally out of this given that he kept finding under pressure when winning his Group 3 in France. He may not have enough improvement in him to win this, but he has a live each way chance.

Star rating:

Bet on Lazy Griff for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

2 Faire La Nouba (6)

• Age: 3
• Weight: 9st 2lb
• Form: 00807-
• Rating: 49
• Jockey: Dougie Costello
• Trainer: John F O’Neill
• Odds: 250/1

Faire La Nouba comes in here as a six-race maiden, and the only way he will rectify that stat is if each of his rivals fails to leave the stalls.

He’s impossible to make a case for.

Star rating:

Bet on Faire La Nouba for the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes here

Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase Stakes verdict

Lambourn is likely to be popular in the betting given his connections, but the one I am siding with is SQUARE D’ALBONI. He is three from four as a two-year-old, and given that he should have so much more to offer as a three-year-old, this tough front-runner looks as if he will take another step up the ladder here now that he tackles a staying trip for the first time. He will prove hard to pass if he gets into a rhythm on the front end.

Pinhole and Furthur are the each-way alternatives.

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