- Jockeys league would relegate real stars to support role
- Sovereignty won’t run in Preakness | And drop Greg a mail
CHESTER 1.30, LILY AGNES CONDITIONS STAKES, 5F 15YD
The traditional fast-and-furious opening to Chester’s May meeting, although the initial entry of a dozen runners has been whittled down to eight by non-runners, including three that were initially drawn eight or higher. The hugely significant stall one, meanwhile, went to Karl Burke’s unbeaten Ali Shuffle, who would probably have started favourite in any case as a result of her perfect two-from-two record, but is now odds-on to make the most of her luck in the draw. She is also top on Timeform ratings and has the best timefigure in the race too, so unless she blows the start, she is likely to be very difficult to beat. Miss Piggle, from Hugo Palmer’s local yard, was the 7-2 second favourite this morning but she is out to 5-1 now as the money comes for Ali Shuffle and there will be some seriously burned fingers among the backers if she fails to oblige.
