Highland ready for Chester fling

Apr 28 2008 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

HIGHLAND LEGACY is the new favourite for the totesport.com Chester Cup.

Following his comfortable two-length success in the two-mile totesport BetXtra Handicap at Ripon, the four-year-old is now the 5-1 market leader with most firms for the £120,000 feature of the Roodee’s three-day May Festival a week on Wednesday.

It was Highland Legacy’s third successive victory. Trainer Michael Bell said: “All things being equal, he’ll run at Chester. I would just like good or easier ground ideally, and hopefully with it being the first day of the meeting, they’ll go into it on good ground. We need about four or five to come out by my calculations, but I think I know of a couple that will so he should have a good chance of getting in. His penalty should help and that’s why we ran him up at Ripon, to try to make sure he got in.”

On Saturday’s win, Bell added: “I was very happy with him, he’s thrived from three to four and he had been working well, as his price reflected.

“He won nicely there and I wouldn’t have any concerns about him going round Chester.”

Meanwhile dual Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats won on his seasonal reappearance yesterday as he took the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan. The seven-year-old had to work hard to secure victory in the 1m5f contest he also took 12 months ago.

TODAY’S NAP: Samuel Charles (3.20pm Lingfield).