PUNTERS SUFFER WEEKEND GLUT: Today Daqman adds his voice to the growing concern at racecourse competition that is eroding the traditional structure of the sport. ‘We won’t have the class horses to go round,’ he says, ‘and the punter suffers from the weekend glut.’
DAY OF DAQ DOUBLES: Today Daqman makes a change from his usual betting structure. He finds two bets at each English Flat-race meeting for singles and a double.
SATURDAY GLUT IS SELF-DEFEATING
Racing is a two-day sport. Apart from the festivals, it is now concentrated solidly at the weekends. Every English big race from now until the end of the Flat season is on a Friday or a Saturday, mainly Saturday; no Sundays.
The Saturday crush is now self-defeating. There just isn’t the betting money or crowds to go round, as sponsorship and race ‘planning’ creates a weekend log-jam of meetings.
Pick a card, any card (and don’t tell me) from Bath, Chester and Newbury, last Saturday or this. Now place it on the midweek timetable and give it a full deck of races from a sponsorship drive.
Instead these tracks are forced to race head on against the big-time cards at Doncaster (last week) and Ayr (this week), hardly getting a publicity mention.
Punters concentrate on the big ones and barely have time to digest, or even enjoy, any of the other races in their own right. The sport becomes a weekend numbers game.
You could say that there are so many conflicting interests that the good of the racing is often overlooked. But you could also say that the dogs of the ratings and planning wars have been let loose and no one controls them.
A £100,000 hurdle at Haydock on November 22 will this year be staged a week before the Fighting Fifth and on the same afternoon as the Ascot Hurdle. November 22 is a Saturday.
But Ascot is as guilty as Haydock in causing a meetings sandwich (a club sandwich at that). Its opening £100,000 chase of the season clashes with the Charlie Hall at Wetherby. The date: November 1. The day: Saturday.
I said we don’t have the crowds or the betting money to go round on Saturdays. At this rate, we won’t have the class horses to go round.
I sometimes complain about low-grade midweek racing but hats off to the sponsors who are in there, fighting against Saturday insanity.
HERE’S A BEAUTY AT 6.0 ON BETDAQ
CHEPSTOW Two trainers in the headlines have runners across the bridge this afternoon, Roger Varian and David Simcock.
After a double of the St Leger and the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the weekend, Varian lowers his sights to the opening maiden (2.20) with Beauty of The Sea.
‘Beauty’ will relish the extra furlong after keeping on well at Goodwood. She’s worth the risk at 6.0 against a favourite, the grey Cymro, not seen since May, possibly flattered by running up to Baitha Alga, and is having to give the selection 5lb today.
David Simcock pulled off a sensational £450,000 double at Woodbine in Canada on Sunday. The yard will still be rocking but those close to Fractal (4.50) will be hoping to see the son of High Chaparral complete his hat-trick, now that Nabatean is a non-runner.
THIRSK There are some old faces at Thirsk in the 7f handicap (3.40) but that’s just the point: Smarty Socks (aged 10) and company at the top of the handicap have years as well as weight to give away.
Yet Smarty Socks is second favourite as I write to the seven-years-younger recent winner, Comino, twice a course-and-distance winner. That’s another 6.0 offer on BETDAQ that takes my fancy.
I shall also go for a three-year-old in the lucky last (5.15) to follow up last year’s win by the same age group. This one, Classical Duet, is 7.2 this morning.
Classical Duet didn’t settle over 1m 6f so is dropped in distance. Will he settle off the stronger pace, or is the plan to ‘do a Johnston’ and take hold of the race from the start. That’s for Kieren Fallon to decide.
YARMOUTH Goodwood Storm (4.00) has had many chances and Swilken – 6.8 this morning on BETDAQ – looks to have been stoked up for a cat-on-fire charge down this straight 6f.
He’s been gelded. He has eye-shields fitted. And he drops back from longer distances, including a mile at Kempton when he led until the last quarter-mile. Ted Durcan continues to do the steering.
Kinshasa (4.30), not disgraced at this level at Ascot, looks a cut above these for a stable which does well at this time of year.
Visors might squeeze another drop from the bottle of Alex Vino but the horses he beat at Lingfield were class 5 and 6 so much more is needed; he’s half a glass empty.
DAQMAN BETS AND MULTIPLES
CHEPSTOW: BET 5pts win on each and 1pts win double BEAUTY OF THE SEA (2.20) and FRACTAL (nap, 4.50)
THIRSK: BET 5pts win on each and 1pt win double COMINO (3.40) and CLASSICAL DUET (5.15)
YARMOUTH: BET 5pts win on each and 1pt win double SWILKEN (4.00 Yarmouth) and KINSHASA (4.30 Yarmouth)
NEW !!!
You can now follow BETDAQ updates on Google+
For further details – CLICK HERE
£50 FREE BET
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.
