Chester, Saturday 25 July 2026: Tips and Selections

Chester, Saturday 25 July 2026: Tips and Selections

Seven races at Chester today on good ground, with Glorious Goodwood just three days away and plenty of trainers using this card to fine-tune horses ahead of the festival. Chester’s tight, left-handed circuit sorts out the course specialists from the rest, and the good going today suits sharp movers rather than big, galloping types. Three races stand out for punting purposes.

1:53 — Midsummer Meeting Handicap Stakes (1m4½f)

Selection: Sisterandbrother Each-Way at 11/1 (Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet)

This is a 10-runner handicap over an extended mile and a half, and the form figure that catches the eye belongs to Sisterandbrother. The eight-year-old gelding has been running to a consistent pattern and the 121571 sequence tells you he keeps finding the frame. The 1 in that string was a win, the 5 and 7 were minor misses, but the very next run brought another victory. At 11/1 in a three-places-each-way race, Joey Ramsden’s veteran is a genuine each-way proposition even if the trainer’s recent 14-day stats look quiet. Apprentice rider Taryn Langley claims 5lbs, which brings the horse down in effective weight terms and could prove significant in a tight handicap finish.

The main market mover to oppose is Al Maslool, the 5/2 favourite from William Haggas. Haggas fires in at Chester at 22% historically but the 3yo’s recent form reads 375023, and the 0 last time out is hard to ignore in a race where others look in better current nick. Yokkell at 7/2 is solid but may need the gaps to open on this circuit. Sisterandbrother at 11/1 with three places on offer is the play.

3:10 — IRE Incentive Maiden Stakes (7f)

Selection: Storm Blade at 7/4 (Boyle Sports)

The market is dominated by the odds-on Velociraptor from Hugo Palmer, but the 4/9 price makes him very short for a horse whose only run produced a third. Hugo Palmer’s yard has hit just 3 from 32 in the last 14 days, which is not the form of a trainer whose horses you back at odds-on with confidence right now.

Storm Blade from Andrew Balding represents a sharper angle. Balding’s yard has been in genuinely good form, landing 13 from 54 in the past fortnight, a strike rate that stands out on this card. The colt ran 4th and 5th in his two starts, showing consistent improvement without winning, and a step up to 7 furlongs at Chester could bring out more. The good ground suits a horse bred to get further than the minimum trip. At 7/4 against the odds-on shot, this is a legitimate take against a short-priced favourite from an out-of-form yard.

Sea Idol carries the Sir Mark Prescott interest and the 26% Chester win rate for that stable is worth noting. At 11/2 he is an interesting each-way alternative if you want to cover the race.

3:48 — Wilson Family Handicap Stakes (6f)

Selection: Tricky Tel at 13/2 (Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet)

Calico Blue is the 4/6 jolly and Roger Varian’s Chester record at 20% is respectable, but 4/6 in a seven-runner handicap is a price that asks you to find very little value anywhere else on the card. The form reads 11-242, admirable enough, but the horse has been placed and placed and placed without dominating, and short prices in handicaps have a habit of obliging the layers.

Tricky Tel has the form to take this. The 4-3110 sequence shows back-to-back victories before a third most recently. David Probert takes the ride and his 16% Chester strike rate is solid, underpinned by a respectable A/E of 0.96 at this track. Hugo Palmer’s overall numbers look a touch quiet in the last fortnight, but this horse is clearly in a purple patch of form and the move from a winning mark to this current race looks fair. Good ground is no issue.

At 13/2 against a short-priced favourite who has been placed without winning recently, Tricky Tel represents the value in the race. The only concern is the 7-runner field means just two places each-way, so go win only or save the each-way stakes for races with three places.

Today’s NAP

Storm Blade — IRE Incentive Maiden Stakes (3:10, Chester)
Odds: 7/4 — Boyle Sports (others: 5/2 LiveScore Bet)

Andrew Balding’s yard is firing on all cylinders with 13 winners from 54 runners over the past fortnight, one of the standout trainer stats on the entire card today. Storm Blade has improved with each run and steps up to a 7f trip that should suit his profile far better than his early-career starts. The odds-on favourite comes from a yard running at under 10% in the same period, and 7/4 against a short-priced rival from a cold stable is precisely the kind of market edge you look for. Bet win only given the small field size.