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Tuesday 5 May 2015

Quick Jack Can Rule The Roodeye

The Betway Chester Cup (3.10) on Wednesday is always highly competitive, but Quick Jack returns to action off a handicap mark just 3lb higher than when beaten three-quarters of a length and a short head by Big Easy and De Rigueur in Betfred Cesarewitch at Newmarket in October and must take all the beating.

The Footstepsinthesand gelding won after a five-month break at Galway last summer, so the fact that he’s run just once since – finishing a highly creditable third, beaten 9¼ lengths, behind Wicklow Brave in the Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last month – shouldn’t count against him. Indeed, the Cheltenham form has already been franked by the second, Sort It Out, so looks even stronger than it did at the time.

Quick Jack has won on good, yielding and soft going, so should run his race whatever the weather on the Roodeye but, with scattered, locally heavy, showers in the forecast, he could be in his element. Co. Meath trainer Tony Martin has a 3-15 (20%) with his runners on this side of the Irish Sea over the last five seasons and jockey Richard Hughes is 1-3 (33%) for the yard in the same period, Quick Jack plenty going for him at around 5/1 in the very early price lists.

Chester 3.10 Quick Jack to win