Chester Vase Odds: Aidan O’Brien has eyes set on 11th triumph

Six colts will take their chance in the Chester Vase on Wednesday, which is seen as one of the key Derby trials, even though it is 11 years since the winner went on to triumph at the Epsom showpiece.

Ruler Of The World produced the goods that day for Aidan O’Brien and the Ballydoyle trainer saddles Grosvenor Square in this year’s renewal as he looks to claim his 11th victory in the race.

While Agenda also represents the yard, strong rivalry could be provided by Hidden Law, who is highly regarded at Godolphin despite being beaten on his debut by Andrew Balding’s Cadogan Place.

Pappano and Golden West make up the field, so here we take a look at the six hopefuls in Wednesday’s 1m 4f test.

Chester Vase Odds

Grosvenor Square	6/4
Hidden Law	9/4
Agenda	11/2
Cadogan Place	6/1
Pappano	14/1
Golden West	28/1

Grosvenor Square

Ryan Moore will take the reins on Grosvenor Square as he looks to win his record ninth Chester Vase on the horse available at 14/1 to claim the Derby on Saturday 1st June.

The colt has not been seen since winning his third race as a two-year-old in October and the nature of his four-and-a-half-length triumph at Leopardstown saw him thrown into the Classic reckoning.

Grosvenor Square was still pulling away over that 1m1f test so it is anticipated that the extra three furlongs will not be an issue and reports on the day stated that he should only improve over the extended trip, but Wednesday will be the day that he has to prove it.

Hidden Law

Another highly regarded horse is Hidden Law, who is 20/1 for the Derby and takes on Group 3 company for the first time.

The Goldolphin hopeful’s dam was Oaks runner-up Secret Gesture, so there is a strong feeling that the trip will not be an issue and trainer Charlie Appleby was delighted by the improvement he showed in claiming a five-and-a-half-length victory at Newbury last month.

However, he does have a score to settle with a re-opposing rival, Cadogan Place.

Agenda

While the other Ballydoyle entrant heads the market, Agenda is an interesting addition to the field and he claimed a one-and-a-half-length victory at Dundalk in March.

That came after he was a close third to stablemates Meriwether Lewis and Psalm over seven furlongs on debut at the Curragh but every indication from his all-weather triumph over 1m 2.5f is that he should relish a bit further.

Agenda holds an entry in the Irish Derby and would undoubtedly boost his credentials for that test with a strong run in this race.

Cadogan Place

The Frankel colt and Hidden Law have already locked horns and it was a titanic struggle at Southwell on the all-weather at the end of March.

They fought all the way in the 1m 3f test at the Nottinghamshire track and Andrew Balding’s colt, owned by Juddmonte, claimed victory by just a short head.

Hidden Law had kept on well on his debut and has won since after being quickly turned around, but there was enough to like about Cadogan Place’s only run to date to suggest he, too, could still be a factor in this sort of company.

Pappano

John and Thady Gosden enjoyed success with Arrest in this race last year and will be hopeful that Pappano, who is 66/1 for the Derby, can put in a strong show.

This will be Pappano’s first Turf outing, although the early all-weather signs have been encouraging after a close third on debut at Kempton in December and then plainly coming on for the experience by scoring at Wolverhampton on 1st April.

That run over 1m 4f should give connections faith that Pappano can perform well at Wednesday’s trip and go close to giving the Gosdens another afternoon to remember.

Golden West

Golden West, who has a 100/1 quote about the Epsom showpiece, is the horse out of the six entrants who probably has the most to prove judging by the formbook.

Sired by 2018 Derby winner Masar, Golden West scored twice as a two-year-old, winning at Newcastle in August and then following up at Epsom in October, but his last run was a disappointment.

It could have been the very soft ground he encountered at Longchamp in the Prix Noailles on 14th April proved his undoing when he finished last of seven, but conditions could be more to his favour this week.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.