Chester Tips: The best bets for Chester Cup day live on ITV Racing

It's Chester Cup day and one of the big betting races of the early flat season. Here we round up the most popular tips from the racing press and highlight some best bets.
In addition to a 7 furlong Handicap from Ascot, we have five races from Chester live on ITV4 today. Let's look at those in turn.
1:30 Chester - CAA Stellar Earl Grosvenor Handicap
A competitive start to today's action with the newspaper tipsters spreading their selections out across most of the field. The most popular selection in the race is LIAMARTY DREAMS for Karl Burke and Clifford Lee. This course and distance winner ticks plenty of boxes being bang in form after wins at Doncaster and Musselburgh and a front runner berthed in stall 2. With a good break, he could be difficult to peg back.
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2:05 Chester - Boodles Darley "Confined" Maiden Stakes
According to the tipsters, this is a two horse race between the Ballydoyle runner, Ephesus, and Roger Varian's, MR HAMPSTEAD. The Aiden O'Brien trained three-year-old heads the bookmakers' lists but its the latter who just edges it in terms of popularity by 8 tips to 7. The son of Galileo holds entries in both the English and Irish Derbys and looks sure to improve for stepping up in trip after finishing a close fourth in a decent Maiden at Newbury. David Egan takes the ride.
2:35 Chester - tote.co.uk Free Bet Friday Handicap
The Karl Burke and Clifford Lee team are once again popular in this race with six tipsters siding with BOLSTER as their best bet. Trained by Simon Crisford last season, he made a successful debut for his new yard at Pontefract 18 days ago, making all to win by 2 lengths. He's up 5lb's today but looks the type to keep on improving so that new mark may not be enough to stop him.
#AD 18+ New cust only. 7 days to place a qualifying bet of £10 at Evens (1/1) for 2 x £10 Free Bets (min odds 2/1) & 2 x £10 Free Accas (trebles & above at min odds per line 1/2). Expires 14/03/25 23:59. Cannot be used on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. Full T&Cs apply.
3:05 Chester - IRE-Incentive, It Pays To Buy Irish Huxley Stakes
This race is dominated by the top two in the betting. Second favourite, Israr, for John and Thady Gosden holds the highest RPR and Topspeed rating and has 7 tips alongside his name but it's the market leader, PASSENGER, who is the most popular pick with 10 tips, 4 of those naps. Sir Michael Stoute has trained the winner of this race seven times and a record eighth success looks likely via this smart four-year-old you was third in the Dante last season before finishing down the field in the Derby. He closed the season with a Group 3 win at Windsor and looks the type to improve as a four year old.
3:40 Chester - Duke Of Westminster Supporting The Chester Cup
As you would expect, it's a typically competitive renewal of the Chester Cup and the newspaper tipsters have covered plenty of runners all the way down to rank outsider, The Grand Visir. Our in-house tipster, Raceolly, has sided with DUKE OF OXFORD here which is also the selection of Rob Wright (The Times), Whistler (Sunday Telegraph) and Postdata (Racing Post) so we're putting him up as the selection despite his poor record on the turf. The Michael Bell-trained 4-year-old has improved for stepping up in trip on the all weather and his second to Prydwen on Good Friday has been boosted by the winner going in again since. He has a wide draw but, being a hold up performer, he can overcome that.