Horse Racing Tips: Lambourn looking to bounce back

Friday brings the third and final day of the Chester May Festival which will be highlighted by the Chester Cup. There are also two other meetings taking place across the afternoon at Ascot and Market Rasen, while the evening action comes from Ballinrobe, Downpatrick, Ripon and Wolverhampton.

Amongst our Friday fancies is one for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who will be looking to bounce back after a disappointing end to his campaign last season.

14:35 Chester - Lambourn @ 11/8

Last year's English and Irish Derby winner, Lambourn, looked to be on his way to being one of the greats, however, his form tailed off towards the end of last season when a fifth-placed effort in the Great Voltigeur was followed by fourth in the St Leger.

There were some extenuating circumstances for those underwhelming efforts, firstly he was running under a penalty in the Great Voltigeur and the race did not seem to suit his style. Secondly he looked as though he did not stay the 1m6f trip in the St Leger, which while disappointing can explain why he faded in the closing stages on that occasion.

The drop back to 10 furlongs for this race looks to be a logical step after last season’s disappointing end, and in his favour he has some good course form, notably when winning the Chester Vase this time last year.

This looks a good starting point for Lambourn to bounce back and then be aimed toward some of the bigger middle distance prizes later in the season.

He crucially avoids a penalty, and if the winter break has had no ill effects, he should go well.

15:05 Chester - Berkshire Sundance @ 10/1

Berkshire Sundance has been in great form on the all-weather of late, as he followed a number of wins over the winter with a career-best effort in the Easter Plate Marathon at Newcastle last month.

He won impressively on that occasion, getting into a good position early and making some steady headway inside the final two furlongs before going clear in the final 110 yards - a stamina test that could benefit him going into this race.

Although his appearances on turf have been limited, he has won on his last two starts on the surface and should have no problems making the switch.

He looks to be on a good mark for this and while the draw in 15 is not ideal, he is in safe hands with Oisin Murphy on board and he looks open to further progress.

16:35 Ascot - King’s Trust @ 3/1

King’s Trust showed steady progress as a juvenile last year and there were signs that he could potentially be smart.

He ran very green on his racecourse debut at Newmarket after not getting off to the best of starts and things did not improve too much in his next run at Goodwood.

However, King’s Trust proved that he was progressive and he repaid those who had shown faith in him by winning on the all-weather at Southwell in October in impressive fashion.

He was gelded after his run at Goodwood and that benefited him at Southwell, where he ran well early and just edged out the second-placed horse after that pair had pulled clear of the field.

He is still learning his craft, but that effort at Southwell was a good enough performance to warrant respect heading into his three-year-old season.

Ascot’s flatter track should benefit John & Thady Gosden’s runner, who looks open to further improvement on what will be his handicap debut.

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