CHESTER'S unique layout poses no problems for Kevin Ryan's Coleorton Dancer (2.00), one of the leading contenders for the Stanleybet Stakes.

Predicting the outcome of a tight-knit race around the devilishly difficult course is never easy, however Coleorton Dancer proved last term that he possesses the necessary athleticism to gallop flat out around the constantly turning left-handed track.

Having previously shone on his only other visit to the Roodee, plus demonstrating progressive form from two to three by scoring on his recent return at Ripon, Coleorton Dancer cannot be ignored, even though the extended seven-furlong event has attracted a red-hot field.

The Group 3 Chester Vase looks an equally competitive affair, so Hearthstead Wings (2.30) is only a tentative selection.

"The Italian Derby is on the agenda for this horse, however there's plenty of time to go before that race and he's also been crying out for a mile-and-a-half," said trainer Mark Johnston.

Johnston's fellow Middleham handler, Karl Burke, has a great chance of lifting the following Bank Of Scotland Handicap with Bold Marc (3.00).

Karl's sprinters are in terrific heart and Bold Marc did not let the side down when finishing a close-up second on his seasonal reappearance at Thirsk. Like most of the Spigot Lodge runners, the gelding probably just needed that outing and Burke will likely also have had one eye on today's big prize.

Bob Johnson, who trains on the banks of the River Tyne just a few miles from Newcastle, has lined up Bob's Buster (7.25) for a tilt at Wetherby's £8,000 Conference Venue Handicap Chase.

The handicapper hit Bob's Buster for six after Johnson's representative found the winner's enclosure four times in the 2003/2004 season. It has taken a long time for the nine-year-old to get back down to a winning mark, however that is now the case and seeing as he ran really well at Bangor recently, the time is right to have a tidy wager.

In the earlier Novices' Handicap Chase, Silvergino (6.25) gets the very confident nod.

By virtue of a supreme act of largesse, the people occupying the corridors of power in the jumps handicap department opted to lower Silvergino 3lb after his latest third-placing at Wincanton.

According to my speed figures that was a lifetime best run from the Brigitte Nicholls-trained west-country raider, which suggest Silvergino deserved to go up, rather than down, in the weights.

Using the old time and tested adage of never looking a gift horse in the mouth, the only possible conclusion to draw from the mathematics of the situation is to make the five-year-old the best bet of the evening. Get on!

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