FIRST MOHICAN SADDLES UP FOR SUPREME TEST: It’s a big day for the Alan King yard as their Supreme Novices’ Hurdle hope for Cheltenham, First Mohican, who has schooled brilliantly, tries to take the scalps of three previous winners at Doncaster.
DAQMAN TAKES 20.0 ON BETDAQ FOR CHELTENHAM: ‘I shall bag a bit of 20.0 First Mohican for Cheltenham before he runs as my nap today. It’s a very open Supreme and, if he wins at Doncaster, he’ll shorten up as the talking horse.’
I’m marooned by the floods somewhere between David Pipe and Paul Nicholls. The A303 was closed this morning and the village diversions through mud and mini-lakes make it a nice day for ducks and rally drivers. I’ll stay at home with BETDAQ up on the screen.
But, hopefully, Messrs Pipe and Nicholls got away early before the A303 gridlock, with their one runner each at Huntingdon. The boxes would go eastbound, away from the floods.
Incredibly, when another Ditcheat box gets further up the A1, the Nicholls’ duo of runners at Doncaster will encounter good-to-soft ground, a comparatively sound surface. And to think I moved West to get away from the northern weather. That’s another one I got wrong!
1.20 Doncaster Mentor and young master meet here, with the ex-Paul-Nicholls Champion Hurdle winner, Rock On Ruby, racing over fences for Harry Fry, tackled only by Ditcheat’s Mr Mole.
Ruby was, officially, a 17 lengths better hurdler than Mr Mole, but this McCoy v Fehily head-to-head has Mr Mole already up to about Grade-3 level over fences. Ruby gives the Mole three years, so he’s the one with the scope.
It’s virtually a round ‘book’ (102%) in terms of the BETDAQ offers, as I write. I fancied playing with the 3.95 Mr Mole but he’s the tracker and Ruby is expected to lead, so I may be waiting in vain for a trade. Cat and mouse or what!
1.50 Doncaster If Fry and Fehily can land the odds in the first, their bumper winner Fair Dreamer (12.5 on BETDAQ) might floor the odds on Vaniteux in the second, should the Henderson hot-pot jump as badly as he did at Kempton.
I’d certainly like to see Vaniteux run again before taking such a short price, Portway Flyer is only class 4, and Gone Too Far has beaten ‘nothing’.
The third and fourth behind his Warwick second were Mystifiable, who flopped at Market Rasen on Tuesday, and Benefique Royale, who emptied the bank with a stinker at Ludlow yesterday.
2.25 Doncaster The Alan King revival after the yard was shut down has not been spectacular but it will be a blow to Kingy’s pride if First Mohican, apple of his eye at Barbury Castle, does not do the business, not to mention the pain it will inflict on Henry Ponsonby’s wallet.
The grey Henderson contender Electrolyser, a Group performer on the Flat where First Mohican was only a handicap winner, is up at Donny for the better ground which helped him stroll home at Plumpton.
John Ferguson is having a great season with his hurdlers and Retrieve was twice a Group-3 winner in Australia. McCoy partners Allied Answer for a trainer rising in class himself, Steve Gollings, but, like Electrolyser, they must give 7lb start to First Mohican, which can pan out at about 10 lengths on bad ground.
2.50 Huntingdon (Chatteris Fen Trophy) Gary Moore has won the race twice in seven years, so we may assume that he’s aimed Violet Dancer at today’s renewal, but neither of his two previous winners carried a penalty. And this is one cracking contest!
Violet Dancer weakened in the final stages at Chepstow over Christmas but that was a Grade 1 and he is still on course for the Fred Winter.
Triumph Hurdle hopefuls are Handiwork, Baradari, and both John Ferguson runners, Muhtaris and Royal Skies, who was beaten by Handiwork at Wetherby but had a weight pull with which to try to redeem that odds-on defeat.
Handiwork, who was withdrawn this morning, declining that rematch with Royal Skies, was neck and neck with Muhtaris on a line through Vandross, trained by Alan King.
Kingy obviously knows the time of day with some of these and I shall have a shekel on Memberof to place at a huge 31.0 on BETDAQ, as I write.
The snag with a bet to win Royal Skies is that he’s so far been best suited by top of the ground, whereas Baradari scored handsomely on heavy at Newbury.
3.00 Doncaster Sir Alex Ferguson’s Harry The Viking, Nicholls second runner of the day at Donny, is blinkered first time – after a breathing op – in the hope of a revival on his favourite track (two out of two on Town Moor until he flopped there in December).
‘Harry’ pulled up off 140 in last year’s Grand National but, the way he’s sliding down the handicap, is unlikely to get into the race this time around, now on 129.
Fill The Power was fifth in the Scottish National and should improve for his reappearance run at Haydock. Fentara needs a bog and Howards’ Legacy had to revert to novice class to win his second chase.
Storm Survivor (huge at 8.8 on BETDAQ this morning) is a topical tip for me as I survey the flood water. Drops back from the National fences and a Listed race. Otherwise his form in 2013 on good ground was 3313.
Maybe I should double Storm Survivor with Thunderstorm (and Moleskin with Mr Mole?). Get your wellies on Daqman, you need to stoke your fire!
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points each, except ante-post)
BET 6.6pts win MR MOLE (1.20 Doncaster)
BET 1.7pts win and place FAIR DREAMER (1.50 Doncaster)
BET 10pts win (nap) FIRST MOHICAN (2.25 Doncaster)
BET 7pts win BARADARI, plus 0.6pts win and place MEMBEROF and 3.4pts (stakes saver) ROYAL SKIES (2.50 Huntingdon)
BET 2.5pts win and place STORM SURVIVOR (3.00 Doncaster)
ANTE-POST (to win 30 points): 1.5pts win FIRST MOHICAN (March 11, Supreme Novices Hurdle, Cheltenham, at 20.0)
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