SHAMROCK LANDED A 2.54 WINNING NAP ON FRIDAY: And now looks ahead to the final day of the Punchestown Festival on Saturday and the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Beginners luck ? Possibly !! But my strategy of napping a double paid off yesterday when both Jezki and Vautour won their respective big races at Punchestown. Individually, the odds were short on both but got a little juicier when combined in a BETDAQ MULTIPLES double and if you played you were rewarded at around 2.54.
It proves yet again there are so many ways of playing the DAQ and (memo to myself): must try that strategy again when there are two ‘shorties’ that I fancy.
There are two Grade 1’s on the Punchestown card today but first a moan….
Why on earth is the Mares Champion Hurdle scheduled five minutes before the start of the English 2,000 Guineas? Surely some Irish/Anglo race planning should have forecast this and race fans both sides of the Irish Sea will no doubt be interested in both races.
Moan over.
3:45 Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Mares Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) (4yo+, Class 1, 2m 2f, 6 runners)
Annie Power will go off long odds-on to resume her winning ways which came to an end, narrowly, in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival when she found More Of That too good. She takes quite a dramatic drop back in trip today but it would still be a massive shock if she was beaten and she is likely to be followed home by stable companion and last year’s winner Glens Melody. It’s very much been a ‘changing of the guard’ week for Willie Mullins at Punchestown. The defeats of Quevega and Hurricane Fly have been countered by impressive successes for Faugheen (especially) and Vautour. Annie Power is very much part of the future Mullins ‘A Team’.
4:20 AES Champion Four Year Old Hurdle (Grade 1) (4yo, Class 1, 2m, 13 runners)
This looks competitive but on the form book it’s hard to get away from the Triumph Hurdle winner Tiger Roll. The Gordon Elliott trained runner stayed on in fantastic style at Cheltenham to win going away, on what was only his third start. On that form he holds Guitar Pete who was third but went on to win a Grade 1 hurdle at Aintree. Elliott said: “He has taken his race at Cheltenham well and is in good form at the moment. He could not have done any more than he was asked in the Triumph. He looks like a nice horse, so we are looking forward to getting him out again.”
NEWMARKET
3.50 Qipco 2000 Guineas Stakes (206th Running) (British Champions Series) (Group 1)
I have been negative on the O’Brien stable this season so am place laying Australia. I’m not convinced the stable are where they want to be, form wise, at the moment and at around 1.96 on the place market it’s a cheap enough lay.
SHAMROCK’S BETS:
NAP: Tiger Roll (4.20 Punchestown)
PLACE LAY: Australia (3.50 Newmarket)
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