15-2 ROSEBERY WINNER WAS 13.5 ON BETDAQ: Doncaster and Dubai made up a difficult day for tipsters and punters alike but Daqman just about wiped his face with an overall loss of only 12 points thanks to three wins including the Rosebery at Kempton with Salutation (WON 15-2), a 13.5 outsider on BETDAQ.
SKY HIGH TO GO 4-0 UP ON PRICEWISE: Daqman also landed the big sprint winner at Meydan, Amber Sky (WON 5-2), and – for the third successive race – laid Cirrus Des Aigles, second in the Sheema Classic, to extend his Flat-season lead over Pricewise to 4-0 (and 43-12 overall). They do battle again in the 3.20 Doncaster today.
GRAND NATIONAL WEEK
TOMORROW: Secrets of the professionals: maximize your profits
TUESDAY: Daqman’s ABC Guide to the Grand National
WEDNESDAY: Stats and facts for the rest of the Aintree meeting
THURSDAY: They’re off at Liverpool with BETDAQ value every day
LEOPARDSTOWN: BALLYDOYLE IN FRONT OF GOAL TODAY: CAN’T SCORE HOME OR AWAY
What’s happened to yer man? Aidan O’Brien’s five-strong contingent for today’s Classic trials is being saddled at Leopardstown on the back of Ballydoyle form-figures for the start of the Flat of: 0004004000.
That includes, of course, failure of his six-star attack on Meydan, all floperoos, notably Epsom Derby winner Ruler Of The World’s 16-lengths 13th of 16 in the Dubai World Cup.
In fact, not many turf horses can act on the surface, nor even dirt horses (the Americans stayed away in droves) and the question from Meydan should be: Is this the end of Tapeta?
However, both Ballydoyle’s Magician and Ernest Hemingway were also well beaten, and they were running on turf, so punters today are more concerned with the query hanging over the O’Brien string’s form.
It wouldn’t be like the unflappable Aidan to do a Mourinho (one among the opposition is Go For Goal) but is his Indian Maharaja a false favourite for the 2,000 Guineas Trial? Or should we pile in? As ever in racing, more questions than answers.
3.10 Leopardstown (2,000 Guineas Trial) A French Derby runner-up and Irish Guineas’ third and fourth are the best we’ve had from the winners of this in the last decade, two of them trained by Dermot Weld.
Weld won the Irish Lincolnshire and the Group-3 Park Express Stakes on the opening day of the Flat at The Curragh last Sunday, when Go For Goal was second.
With the ground to his liking and blinkered first time, he was the ‘moral’ beaten only a length, giving 8lb to the winner of the day’s featured handicap.
Go For Goal now has to step up to Listed level and prove that the blinkers can do the trick again. Not very likely at this level in normal circumstances but at least he likes the ground and his stable is in form.
Aidan O’Brien for one didn’t get a look-in at the Curragh, with two hot favourites beaten in two days, and that Meydan whitewash of his big guns in Dubai yesterday?
As ever, yer man says that Indian Maharaja and Buonarotti are ‘ready to start off.’ But I shall have my pound on the Aga Khan’s Ebanoran (around 6.0 on BETDAQ this morning), entered in both Guineas and both Derbys and expected to like the ground.
3.45 Leopardstown (1,000 Guineas Trial) Much better results recently in this than the colts have given us from there trial: both Virginia Waters (2005) and Homecoming Queen (2012) went on to take the Newmarket 1,000.
Both were trained by Aidan O’Brien, who has won this nine times since 1997, and seems to have his top two Guineas hopes, Marvellous and Bracelet, on show in the same race here.
But all the money this morning was for Dermot Weld’s Balansiya. I can’t take a short price about anything in these trials but, since she is also owned by the Aga Khan, I shall use her as a stakes saver for Ebanoran. Have the Aga’s men cooked up a big double?
DONCASTER: GATEWOOD BANKER AS A GROUP HORSE IN A RACE OF HANDICAPPERS
Can I have a sick note, please? When at school on a big-race day, my dad, who was a punter, would provide me the necessary out, so I could stay home and watch my ‘half a dollar’ pocket-money run. That’s when I wasn’t running a ‘book’ in the school library.
I need a sickie for another reason at Donny today, with Pricewise dragging me into a 20-runner sprint. We could each put up a horse nine times and still lose, though the tenth time, mathematically, we ought to win it!
3.20 Doncaster I can clutch at straws and say that the two sprints yesterday were won from stalls 2 and 3, though, in fact, most of the racing was down the middle of the course.
I could say that only one horse over the age of five has won this race in the decade. That would be more sensible, since we can expect younger horses to improve.
And I could check out the trainers in form and come up with Tom Dascombe (Chosen Character), Tony Carroll (Caspian Prince), Kevin Ryan (Chooseday) and George Baker (Joey’s Destiny).
SP returns since 2004 of 40-1, 33-1, 16-1 (twice) and 14-1 suggest that, as I feared, we are into pinstickers’ race. But form, some kind of form – the best we can dig up – is the only way to bet.
Joey’s Destiny (10.0) has to be one of mine. He was thought of as a Royal Ascot juvenile only to fracture his tibia but he returned with back-to-back wins, goes well fresh and needs it soft. Looks nicely in.
Sir Reginald (9.8) is a soft-ground Doncaster winner who has had a run back this year and is just preferred to Kimberella, switched to sprint-expert David Nicholls.
3.55 Doncaster Shield This would be prizemoney better spent, with only five runners now for the fourth consecutive year. Gatewood is a Group horse in a race of handicappers but was a shade of odds against on BETDAQ this morning.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 4pts win EBANORAN (3.10 Leopardstown) and 3pts win (stakes saver) BALANSIYA (3.45 Leopardstown)
BET 2.2pts win on each JOEYS DESTINY and SIR REGINALD (3.20 Doncaster)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (NAP) GATEWOOD (3.55 Doncaster)
HORSES TO FOLLOW: MARVELLOUS (3.45 Leopardstown)
NEW !!!
You can now follow BETDAQ updates on Google+
For further details – CLICK HERE
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
