Chester Delivers the Goods on a Cracking September Saturday

Well now. If you were looking for an excuse to plant yourself in front of the racing on a Saturday afternoon and let the world go hang, Chester gave you every reason and then some. Seven races, a Group 1, two Group 2s, a Heritage Handicap sprint that looked like it had half the horses in training in it, and a closing Arabian Derby worth a quarter of a million quid. Not a bad day's work for a tight little track on the banks of the Dee, I'll tell you that for nothing.

The going came up Good, Good to Soft in places — a SM reading of 40 if you're the sort who likes your numbers — and that suited a proper range of horses across the card. Nothing too testing, nothing too quick. A fair surface, and on a day like this, that's all you can ask for.

The Feature: St Leger Stakes — Group 1 Glory at 1m6f

Let's cut straight to the big one, shall we? The Betfred St Leger Stakes — £700,000 in prize money, the oldest Classic in the calendar, and a race that separates the genuine stayers from the horses who merely think they fancy a mile and six. Chester's a different beast to Doncaster in terms of the track, but the distance is the distance, and there's nowhere to hide when you're grinding it out in the straight.

Christmas Day came in as the highest-rated runner on 118 and was always going to be the one everyone was watching. R.P. Whelan in the saddle — not a combination you see every day at this level — and the question all week was whether the horse's stamina would see him home at this trip on this sort of ground. A proper stayer's test, this.

Pierre Bonnard on 116 with Willie Lordan was the one I had marked down as the danger. Lordan's been riding out of his skin this season and Pierre Bonnard has looked like a horse who saves his best for the big occasion. Enceladus (112, Billy Loughnane) was another with serious claims — Loughnane's been electric all year and this looked like a horse with a massive engine if the stamina question could be answered.

Amelia Earhart at 104 with Tom Marquand was an interesting each-way shout — a filly taking on the colts, which is never to be dismissed lightly in a Classic. Marquand rides with his head, and if there was a pace collapse to be exploited, he'd have been the one to do it. Keep an eye on where this filly runs next — she's worth following into the autumn regardless of today's result.

The Portland: Twenty-Two Runners and Pure Madness in 5f 143y

Holy mother of God, the Betfred Portland. Twenty-two declared, one non-runner in Trefor, and still enough bodies out there to cause a proper traffic jam down Chester's short straight. This is heritage handicap sprinting at its most chaotic and most glorious, and I mean that as a compliment.

Top weight Dubai Bling (103, David Probert) had course and distance form — always a plus at Chester where the track knowledge genuinely matters — and Getreadytorumble (102, Tom Marquand) with both course and distance form ticked was one of the most obvious each-way angles in the race. Marquand again. The man was everywhere today and not by accident.

Al Shabab Storm (102, Conor Whiteley) looked overpriced on that rating given the conditions, and I'll be watching to see how the market treated him. Toca Madera (95, Daniel Tudhope) with course and distance form at a mark that looked lenient is absolutely one to follow from this race — if he ran a big race today, he might not be 95 for much longer, but catch him before the handicapper catches up.

Eternal Sunshine (88, Lauren Young) — the lowest-rated runner with course and distance form — is the sort of horse that can pop up in these big-field sprints and leave everyone looking foolish. Mark her down. She'll win one of these before the season's out.

Champagne Stakes & Park Stakes: Group Racing at Its Finest

The Betfred Champagne Stakes at 7f 6y gave us a fascinating look at the juvenile picture with Gentle Hurricane heading the ratings on 106 under Jason Watson. A horse with that kind of rating in a maiden-heavy Group 2 field suggests he's been doing something right, and Watson's a rider who doesn't waste his energy on horses without a chance.

Sergei Diaghilev (Lordan, unrated) was the interesting wildcard — unrated runners in Group 2 company either have no business being there or they're about to announce themselves in the most emphatic fashion possible. I know which version makes for better copy, and I know which version Lordan tends to be associated with.

The Betfred Park Stakes was the real Group 2 for the older brigade — More Thunder on a whopping 119 with Marquand was the class act of the whole afternoon, a horse who's been knocking on Group 1 doors all season. Never So Brave (114, Tudhope) and Qirat (113, De Sousa) made this a genuine three-way tussle at the top, but if More Thunder was anywhere near his best, he'd take some beating. Watch for him in the Champion Stakes or the QEII if connections are feeling bold.

Ones to Follow: The Horses Worth Watching This Autumn

Right, here's where we get down to brass tacks. From the Chester racecard today, these are the names I'm writing in my notebook:

  • Amelia Earhart — Filly who took on the colts in the Leger. Whatever happened today, she's got ability and Marquand doesn't ride fillies in Classics for the craic.
  • Toca Madera — Course and distance form at a mark of 95 in the Portland. The handicapper will come for her, but she could have one more big pot in her first.
  • Pierre Bonnard — If he ran well in the Leger, the Irish St Leger at the Curragh or the Prix Royal-Oak in France are natural next steps. Lordan will know the way.
  • Eternal Sunshine — Lowest-rated runner in the Portland with course form. These are the horses that make handicap sprinting the beautiful lottery it is.
  • Sergei Diaghilev — Unrated in the Champagne Stakes. If he showed anything today, he'll be one of the most talked-about juveniles heading into next season's Guineas picture.

The Arabian Derby: A Fitting Finale

To close out the day, the UAE President Cup UK Arabian Derby — a Group 1 for Pure Arabians worth £250,000 — brought a completely different flavour to proceedings. SAB'AAN AL SHAHANIA (119) and ROMEO AT (118) headed the ratings, with LAFFAN (116) as the third string in what looked a genuine three-horse race at the top. Arabian racing doesn't always get the credit it deserves on a card like this, but a quarter of a million quid is a quarter of a million quid, and the quality at the top of this field was real.

Final Word: Chester, You've Done It Again

There are days in the racing calendar that remind you why you fell in love with this sport in the first place, and a Saturday at Chester in September is reliably one of them. A Classic, two Group 2s, a Heritage Handicap that needed its own traffic management system, and a closing Arabian Group 1 — that's a card worth getting out of bed for, and worth staying up to talk about over a pint.

The autumn's only getting started. Fancy, Champions Day, the Irish Leger — there are roads leading out from Chester today that end up in some very glamorous places. Keep your notebook handy. The season's not done with us yet.