Betting
RULER OF THE WORLD: Chester Vase hero secured Derby glory in 2013
Aidan O’Brien’s Ruler Of The World was the last winner of the Vase to secure Derby victory later in the season
The May Festival gets underway later this afternoon for its first renewal since 2019 after last season’s cancellation owing to the coronavirus pandemic, so Ruler Of The World’s long-standing record remains intact, until later today at least.
Alongside the Blue Riband and Dante, the Chester contest is often a valuable trial for three-year-old colts with hopes of landing success in the greatest flat race of them all, the Cazoo Derby.
Aidan O’Brien and Ballydoyle have dominated recent proceedings of the event, landing seven of the last nine editions of the race.
However, you’d have to go back to 2013 to find the last horse who claimed the Vase and Derby double.
Ruler Of The World was remarkably unraced at the age of two, but kickstarted his Classic campaign with a bang at the Curragh.
The son of Galileo maintained his unbeaten start in Cheshire when taking the Chester Vase under Ryan Moore a month later, but confirming his place in the history books when winning on the Downs under the same pilot to seal an early career hat-trick.
He would be turned over at short odds in the Irish equivalent next time out, going onto win only one of his final eight starts before being retired at the conclusion of his four-year-old season in 2014.
Dom’s NAP of the day is a selection in the 2021 Group 3 Chester Vase Stakes.
