Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2025 Chester Cup Preview
First run in 1824, the Chester Cup staged on the final day of the Chester May Meeting is one of the big betting handicaps of the flat season.
Run over two miles two and a half furlongs for four-year-olds and upwards, the 2019 renewal will be worth over £90,000 to the winner.
This marathon trip around the tight turns of Chester is a unique test and has seen many top dual-purpose horses win this valuable prize down the years.
There have been nine dual winners including the great Sea Pigeon back in 1977 and 1978, the most recent being Anak Pekan in 2004 and 2005.
It's one of few races over this trip where the draw can be an important factor with Chester riding like you are always on the 'turn', being able to hold a decent position and not finding yourself out too wide are important factors.
Chester Cup Information:
Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Chester tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information, head down to the Other Principal Races at Chester Racecourse section for links to these.
How competitive is the Chester Cup market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2011 when the race had an over-round of 119%. The race in 2016 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 130%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Chester Cup, the over-round has been 125%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £125 which is bet.
Chester Cup Trends:
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the Chester Cup next time out then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -8.00. Before placing your bet on the 2025 Chester Cup see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 3:58.89 was set by Greenwich Meantime in 2007, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan. The slowest winning time was set in 2019 when Making Miracles won in a time of 4:33.09, booked to ride was Franny Norton by the trainer Mark Johnston.
These are the top three quickest-run Chester Cup over the last 20 renewals:
- Greenwich Meantime (3:58.89) in 2007
- Zoffee (3:59.16) in 2024
- Overturn (3:59.39) in 2011
Chester Cup Past Winners
Here are the Chester Cup past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The trainer of the horse at the time of winning the Chester Cup as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 3:59.16 | Zoffee (GB) 8yo 8-7 (1 of 16) 9/1 | Harry Davies Hugo Palmer (GB) |
| 2023 4:15.48 | Metier (IRE) 7yo 9-1 (14 of 16) 5/1 | Saffie Osborne Harry Fry (GB) |
| 2022 4:04.13 | Cleveland (IRE) 4yo 9-0 (10 of 14) 6/1 | Ryan Moore A P O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2021 4:07.11 | Falcon Eight (IRE) 6yo 9-10 (10 of 16) 15/2 | Frankie Dettori D K Weld (IRE) |
| 2019 4:33.09 | Making Miracles (GB) 4yo 9-0 (16 of 15) 16/1 | Franny Norton Mark Johnston (GB) |
| 2018 4:02.90 | Magic Circle (IRE) 6yo 9-3 (6 of 16) 8/1 | Fran Berry Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2017 4:03.37 | Montaly (GB) 6yo 9-6 (2 of 17) 16/1 | Oisin Murphy Andrew Balding (GB) |
| 2016 4:10.48 | No Heretic (GB) 8yo 8-13 (4 of 17) 11/1 | Jamie Spencer Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2015 4:12.87 | Trip To Paris (IRE) 4yo 8-9 (11 of 17) 10/1 | Graham Lee Ed Dunlop (GB) |
| 2014 4:07.85 | Suegioo (FR) 5yo 9-4 (4 of 17) 10/1 | Ryan Moore Marco Botti (GB) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Chester Cup have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 50 placings from 299 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 8 placings from 30 runners
Chester Cup Trainer Statistics
There are multiple leading trainers in the Chester Cup over the last 20 renewals with Ian Williams, Richard Fahey and Donald McCain having all won the race two times. Ian Williams's winners have been with Bulwark (2008) and Magic Circle (2018). Richard Fahey's winners have been with Greenwich Meantime (2007) and Address Unknown (2013). Donald McCain winners have been with Overturn (2011) and Ile De Re (2012).
Here are some of the top Chester Cup trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Williams | 24-2-4 | +19.00 | +11.63 |
| Richard Fahey | 21-2-9 | +7.00 | +11.14 |
| Donald McCain | 10-2-3 | +7.50 | +3.07 |
| Andrew Balding | 13-1-5 | +4.00 | +2.75 |
| D K Weld | 8-1-4 | +0.50 | +2.32 |
| Ed Dunlop | 7-1-2 | +4.00 | +1.25 |
| Nicky Henderson | 6-1-2 | +6.00 | +4.88 |
| Hugo Palmer | 6-1-3 | +4.00 | +3.76 |
| A P O'Brien | 4-1-1 | +3.00 | +0.75 |
| David Pipe | 3-1-1 | +5.00 | +2.38 |
Chester Cup Jockey Statistics
There are multiple leading jockeys in the Chester Cup over the last 20 renewals with Ryan Moore, Jamie Spencer and Jim Crowley having all won the race two times. Ryan Moore winners have been with Suegioo (2014) and Cleveland (2022). Jamie Spencer's winners have been with Address Unknown (2013) and No Heretic (2016). Jim Crowley winners have been with Bulwark (2008) and Ile De Re (2012). There is one jockey who has not had the best of times in the Chester Cup, Joe Fanning has ridden a total of 11 runners to the race without recording any wins.
Here are some of the top Chester Cup jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Moore | 15-2-3 | +3.00 | -1.37 |
| Jamie Spencer | 14-2-6 | +11.00 | +9.58 |
| Jim Crowley | 9-2-3 | +36.00 | +23.51 |
| Franny Norton | 13-1-4 | +4.00 | +6.13 |
| J F Egan | 8-1-2 | +21.00 | +11.34 |
| Graham Lee | 8-1-1 | +3.00 | -0.75 |
| Frankie Dettori | 7-1-3 | +1.50 | +1.82 |
| Oisin Murphy | 4-1-4 | +13.00 | +10.69 |
| Harry Davies | 3-1-2 | +7.00 | +4.88 |
| Saffie Osborne | 2-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.13 |
2025 Chester Cup Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 1, 5, 8, 2, 5, 7, 1, 12, (3, 5, 11), (5, 7), 4, 2, 12, 12, 5, 9, (7, 9), (2, 5), 3, 4
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Not on GS/FM/STD-SLW (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not on STD-SLW/STD (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Carried 124 - 133lbs (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (84%) - Ran over 7f - 1m4f (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - No bigger than 16/1 (Career Win)
- 20 / 20 (86%) - Fewer than 3 races (Course)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 4 - 39 races (Career)
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Within the first 14 of the market
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved a TS of 67+ (Last 5)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - No bigger than 33/1
- 19 / 20 (83%) - Held an OR of 90+
- 19 / 20 (85%) - No more than +3yrs (Vs Min Age)
- 19 / 20 (86%) - Held an OR of 80+ (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (83%) - Won by at least ½l (Last Win)
- 18 / 20 (84%) - No older than a 7yo
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Chester racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Chester Cup. How well do you know your horse racing? Are there certain types of races that you are unsure of? Why not take a look at this Types Of Horse Race article to familiarise yourself with the different types of racing, that is just one of many helpful horse racing articles in the OLBG Betting School.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Chester Cup by adding a tip on the race here.
Chester Cup Trend Analysis
The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +55.00 is when runners had 0 season starts. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a Flat (AW) race last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-61.
Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2024: Winner in 1 (7,10,4) [16 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 14 (3,2,7) [16 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 10 (2,1) [14 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 10 (11,2,8) [16 Runners]
- 2019: Winner in 16 (12,7) [15 Runners]
The courses that have produced the most winners of the Chester Cup are Newmarket (Rowley), Aintree and Ripon, there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 317 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 12 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Chester Cup:
- Galileo (2 Wins)
- In The Wings (2 Wins)
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Chester Cup despite multiple attempts:
- Hurricane Run (0 Wins from 9 runners)
- Singspiel (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Frankel (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Sadlers Wells (0 Wins from 6 runners)
- Authorized (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Bulwark in 2008, winning for Ian Williams at odds of 33/1 under the guidance of Jim Crowley. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there have been 2 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2025 Chester Cup.
Other Principal races at Chester racecourse
Here are some other notable races at the Chester racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.
Races in May (May Meeting)
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Chester Cup Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.
No Comments
There are no comments here. Be the first to comment...
Keep Reading
Vladimír Šmicer Exclusive Interview with OLBG
Vladimir Smicer exclusive interview: Florian Wirtz could be next Philippe Coutinho at Liverpool, Arne Slot is nothing like Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah could follow Cristiano Ronaldo, we couldn’t walk after wild trophy celebrations led by Jamie Carragher
Continue ReadingPedro Mendes Exclusive Interview with OLBG
Pedro Mendes exclusive interview: Cristiano Ronaldo is more complete than Lionel Messi, I’m not surprised to see Bruno Fernandes wanting Man Utd exit, I still fear over future brain injuries after Ben Thatcher’s elbow
Continue ReadingYevhen Levchenko Exclusive Interview With OLBG
Yevhen Levchenko exclusive interview: Arne Slot sees things that other coaches don’t see, Bournemouth’s Illia Zabarnyi is ready for a transfer to Manchester United, Luis Suarez launched an umbrella at our manager
Continue Reading