Robert Hickmott’s lightly raced grey Bumper Blast is tipped as the galloper to beat in Flemington’s feature race on Saturday with the in-form improver dominating the Chester Manifold Stakes 2020 betting markets.

A nice form race looking ahead to the autumn, this summer’s Listed $140,000 Chester Manifold Stakes (1400m) features a small eight horse line-up.

Drawn well in gate four with Regan Bayliss coming aboard is the clear $2.25 favourite in Chester Manifold Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au, four-year-old Ocean Park gelding Bumper Blast.

The Kiwi-bred grey has won three of his last four starts and comes into Saturday’s Black-Type clash undefeated with a two-from-two record at the famous Flemington track.

A one and a half length winner of the famous race for greys at HQ during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, Bumper Blast was last seen saluting at Flemington again over Saturday’s track and distance with a narrow victory over River Jewel on December 14.

Kept fresh in the month since, this looks a winnable race for the 1400m specialist (3-3-0-0) who also looks very well weighted with just 54kg after battling on so well with 56.5kg from a wide barrier (13 of 14) last start.

Backed by the punters in the past 24 hours in from $4.50 to $3.90 to occupy the second line of betting is the Team Hawkes-trained Firsthand drawn one wider in gate five.

Dwayne Dunn retains the ride on the seven-year-old son of Star Witness after riding him to a credible fifth when only 1.75 lengths off the winner Yulong January on New Year’s Day in handicap clash over the track and distance.

Firsthand carried 56kg and faded in the closing stages second-up but presents as an Each Way chance here fitter third-up with a half-kilo less on his back.

“Just the other day, I think he needed the run,” Dunn told Racenet this week.

“He pulled a bit midrace and the small field probably suits him on Saturday.

“He’ll be competitive in that race. It looks a nice for him.”

Three other runners are also at single figures in the latest Chester Manifold Stakes odds with in-form entire Amadeus ($6), the 60kg topweight Duca Valentinois ($7) racing first-up for Godolphin and the rails-drawn Guizot ($9) coming off a fifth in the Group 3 Standish Handicap (1200m).

“I was definitely happy with the way he has come back and the way he ran and happy with the way he’s pulled up,” Guizot’s trainer Aaron Purcell said of the seven-year-old who has his 11^th start at the track.

“So, I think this should be a good preparation for him.

“If the race had have come up a hot race with a big field, we might have waited for another day but it doesn’t look to be a super strong stakes race and with his rating there’s not a lot of options for him.

“It looks like a race he’s going to be competitive in.”

See below for the full Chester Manifold Stakes 2020 field and barriers, the latest odds for which are available here courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Hcp Rating
1	x55521850x	DUCA VALENTINOIS (IRE)	James Cummings	Brad Rawiller	8	60kg	103
2	17234518×5	GUIZOT (IRE)	Aaron Purcell	Ms Linda Meech	1	56.5kg	96
3	x392074x85	FIRSTHAND	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Dwayne Dunn	5	55.5kg	94
4	7761770×68	INSENSATA	Jason Coyle	James Winks	2	54kg	84
5	61151	BUMPER BLAST (NZ)	Robert Hickmott	Regan Bayliss	4	54kg	83
6	233×864522	AMADEUS	Michael Kent	Jye McNeil	7	54kg	82
7	157191110x	PELONOMENA	Mitchell Freedman	Dean Yendall	3	54kg	81
8	31300×2026	CALL IT A DAY	Jason Warren	Dean Holland	6	54kg	74