The first big meeting at the Chester racecourse is underway and the coveted Ladbrokes Chester Cup will take place on Friday. However, amongst a plethora of great horses in the flat race scene such as Caballo De Mar and Who’s Glen, one horse is making his big return to flat racing.
The Gredely Family and trainer James Owen have seen their four year old superstar hurdler East India Dock tear up the hurdling game as of late, with two great wins at Cheltenham, and a close third place at the Cheltenham festival. But the former long time flat racer will make his return to flat racing at the first Chester meeting of the season, and will aim to win the prestigious Chester Cup in his return.
East India Dock is entering the race as the 4/1 favourite, and is highly regarded as the quickest and most raw horse of the pack, but despite his last win on the flat being in September 2024, he will definitely be up and ready for his big race on Friday.
After changing trainers in October last year to focus on hurdling, new trainer James Owen took no time in making East India Dock into a phenom of the jumping game, and quickly got two class one wins under his belt at Cheltenham in preparation for the famous Cheltenham festival. His two big wins on the course led to an extremely close third place finish behind Willie Mullins’ 100/1 outsider Poniros at the Cheltenham festival, and will use his improved speed and travelling abilities during the Chester Cup, and will definitely be a horse to keep an eye on.
However with a solid group of competitors at Chester, trainer George Scott’s Caballo De Mar who is unbeaten in his last five races on the flat is sitting at 6/1 in the betting pool, and could seem to be a worthy competitor for East India Dock and James Owen. Although with the field consisting of lots of one mile sprinters, East India Dock may find he has the upper hand in distance, and has the experience in higher class races to take the cake at Chester.
With jockey Harry Davies taking over for the flat, favoured over jumps jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, trainer James Owen has taken the decision to use cheekpieces to conserve as much concentration as possible, and could only make East India Dock run a much more fluid race. Davies will find himself amongst a field of amazing jockeys including Oisin Murphy and Ryan Moore, and will aim to return to winning ways after his last win came on the 29th of April at Nottingham. But with the dual phenomenon over hurdles and over the flat, with East India Dock underneath his saddle, it is likely Davies could add a Chester Cup to his resume, and could get the fans in the Chester paddock on their feet and cheering as The Gredely Family’s future superstar will make his way to Chester.
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