Sky Sports Racing's Alex Hammond latest racing blog and tips

Horse Racing

Wed May 13, 2026 · 12h ago

Sky Sports Racing's Alex Hammond reflects on the Chester drama before looking ahead to York and Newbury this week.

The May Festival at Chester wasn’t without drama – what did you make of the challenges around the ground conditions on the Roodee?

In almost three decades of working in my role, I can’t recall another occasion where an enquiry into the state of the ground was so protracted. There was a lot at stake, so I understand the delay, and it had to be the correct decision. As it turned out, the remedial work that was carried out on the track during the seventy odd minutes we were waiting worked the oracle and racing continued without any further problems.

I’m not sure what the answer is, and I’m not involved with the work that goes into track management or the inspection of courses or going reports so it’s hard to give an informed response. However, it doesn’t reflect well to have these incidents occur during a high profile meeting.

In their defence, weather reports seem to be wildly inaccurate nowadays and you can’t account for a change in forecast. It is a thankless task being a clerk of the course and when you are reliant on data that is often misleading it makes their jobs almost impossible. I have enough of a problem trying to decide what to wear during a meeting like that and the worst that can happen for me is I’m too hot or too cold. The stakes are extremely high for them, so I sympathise.

A delegation of officials, jockeys and trainers on the track at Chester

And as for the action on the track, who impressed you most among the Classic trials?

Both Aidan O’Brien trained colts enhanced their classic credentials. Benvenuto Cellini won as his price and rating suggested he should have in the Vase, but the way he did it was impressive. He’s also a gorgeous individual and to date his only disappointment came in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster last October on testing ground that he couldn’t excel on. He’s now 9/4 favourite with Sky Bet for the Epsom classic.

The horse that I’d love to own is Constitution River. What a stunner he is! The winning time was sensational and whist the Dee Stakes hasn’t been a reliable Derby Trial over the years, this horse will be top class regardless of whether he wins at Epsom. It could be that Aidan O’Brien sends him to France for the Prix Du Jockey Club instead, so I wouldn’t be rushing to back him for Epsom just yet.

Constitution River impressed in the Dee Stakes

Can you give us a name or two to note among the entries for York this week?

I’m a fan of Tuco Salamanca and he’s declared to run in the six-furlong handicap on Wednesday. Billy Loughnane has been snapped up by trainer Ollie Sangster which is good news as he’s two from two on the horse. He’s not the easiest horse to follow as he needs luck in running but hopefully he can give me something to cheer about.

Ryan Moore got a feel for Time For Sandals when she reappeared at Newmarket last month and the fact he keeps the faith in the Group 2 Minster Stakes tells us that she will have stepped forward for her seasonal debut. She ran a cracker to be second in the Lowther at this track as a juvenile so all being well she’ll run a big race again on Wednesday.

I’ll be sticking with Linwood if he lines up in the Hambleton Handicap on Thursday for trainer Richard Hannon. He was impressive when winning the Spring Cup at Newbury last time out and I got the impression he would be out of handicaps in the not too distant future. Hannon suggested a group 1 entry wouldn’t go amiss after that win, so he ought to run well here if that’s the case.

Morshdi is another I’d hope to see run well at York. He was set to run in the Dee Stakes at Chester until the situation with the ground led trainer William Haggas to withdraw him from that contest. That saved him having a head to head with Constitution River, so he should make his presence felt in the Dante Stakes on Thursday.

I loved Revival Power last year and this Tim Easterby trained well bred filly could reappear in the Westow Stakes. She won a listed race over course and distance at two and followed up with a win in the Group 2 Flying Childers at Doncaster. This flat track at York suits her well as she’s all speed.

Finally, Synchronicity was impressive when winning on her racecourse debut at Newbury last month and she’s sure to have stepped forward for that. As a full sister to the mighty Ombudsman, she has the weight of expectation on her back and her price tag of 900,000 guineas adds more pressure on connections, but so far so good and it will be intriguing to see what she can do in the listed Sky Bet Fillies’ Stakes on Friday.

Finally, who wins the BOYLE Sports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on Saturday?

I’m writing this in the early part of the week, so the field hasn’t started to take shape yet, but hopefully Karl Burke is planning to run Zeus Olympios again after his reappearance third placed effort in the bet365 Mile at Sandown a couple of weeks ago. He should have stepped forward for that run and could face his Sandown conqueror Opera Ballo again at Newbury. Damysus, The Lion In Winter and Notable Speech make for a mouthwatering contest, but I’d be happy enough to go with Zeus Olympios if he turns up.

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