Roman Dragon has eight course wins at Chester. Yesterday he added another — winning the CAA Stellar Handicap at 4/1 under Oisin Murphy for Hugo Palmer, just holding off stablemate Dubai Bling by a head in a finish that produced the remarkable result of the Palmer yard filling the first two places.
The Race
Roman Dragon raced prominently from the outset — his usual Chester style of travelling close to the pace on the tight Roodee. Inside the final furlong, Murphy asked him to stretch and he led. Dubai Bling, ridden by Billy Loughnane and also trained by Palmer, produced a sustained challenge in the closing stages and pressed Roman Dragon right to the line. The margin was a head. The two horses occupied first and second. The Chester specialist had done it again.
The horseracing.net result confirms the race description: "prominent, ridden to lead inside final furlong, soon faced challenge, just prevailed." Dubai Bling: "slowly into stride, in rear, steady headway when not clear run from over 2f out, switched right and headway 1f out, pressed winner final 110yds, just held."
The Palmer 1-2
Hugo Palmer trained both the winner and the runner-up. Roman Dragon from stall position and Dubai Bling from double-figure draw, coming from last to second. The trainer's Cheshire base — Manor House Stables in Malpas, within the Chester area — means the Chester May Meeting is his home fixture. Two horses in the first two, the day before Chester Cup Day on which Palmer also has runners, confirms the operation's seasonal peak has arrived at the right time.
Eight Wins at Chester
Roman Dragon now has eight wins at Chester across his career — over distances from five furlongs to seven furlongs, on ground from good to soft, with various jockeys. The common factor in every win is the track. The Roodee suits him in a way no other course does. His form away from Chester, as yesterday's pre-race assessment acknowledged honestly, is inconsistent. At Chester he is unrecognisable from the horse that runs 0s at Newbury and Wolverhampton.
Trotbot identified him as yesterday's highest-confidence selection. The selection rationale — course record, race-specific win, favourable draw, trainer targeting — proved accurate in each of its four components.
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Facts verified via web search May 8 2026.