Four bets at Chester and Ascot

There is so much to like about Chester’s three-day May meeting ending today: a unique course with an atmosphere to match, quality racehorses, highly-competitive contests every day and much more besides. If you have never been to the Cheshire track situated on the outskirts of this cathedral city on the River Dee, put it on your to-do list now because it will not disappoint.

I have already put up one tip for today’s big race: the Chester Cup (3.40 p.m.). Zoffee, suggested at 16-1 a week ago, is less than half that price now and, in theory, he should benefit from his number one draw. 

However, he tends to be held up so the danger is he may get stuck behind a wall of horses coming into the straight. As his trainer Hugo Palmer suggested after the draw was made on Wednesday, that’s when a supposedly favourable inside berth can suddenly become a disadvantage.