THREE NAPS UP THIS WEEK: Daqman landed his third winning nap of the week yesterday though, yet again, he was on a gamble, so not a big price at SP. But he also scored at handy odds with Threebagsue (WON 7-2). His naps have won on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for three out of four and a hat-trick chance this afternoon. They were:
WON 1-1 Theinval
WON 1-3 Cosmeapolitan
WON 4-6 Give Me A Copper
TODAY both Daqman and Paul Nicholls are going for the hat-trick in the same Ascot race. TOMORROW is the Tommy Whittle at Haydock and Long Walk Hurdle day at Ascot.
TWO CHANCES FOR THE CHAMPAGNE
1.20 Ascot: Not a winning favourite in sight, as I go back into the history of this race, but the likely jolly, Back By Midnight, looks ideally placed in the handicap, getting a stone or more (including claim) from all bar one in this field.
He ran his rivals into submission at Sandown on the last day (Red Devil Star behind) and, just as long as the rain stays away, will be hard to peg back again. His immediate problem is another front-runner, Imperial Presence.
Dubawi Island is a rare Venetia Williams’ runner in that he prefers a soundish surface. Has won fresh but this is his first steeplechase in a 30-race career.
And the biggest worry for favourite backers may be the in-form Jonjo O’Neill yard. Back to his best trip, I’dliketheoption (Barry Geraghty) won at Ludlow in a fast time, so the front-runners could set him up.
But that would also apply to his Jonjo stablemate Champagne At Tara, the class horse of the race, second in a big-field Grade 2 hurdle at Aintree, though uninspiring in his first chase a month back.
1.55 Ascot This has produced Medermit (2008), runner-up in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, L’Ami Serge (2014), who went on to be fourth at Cheltenham, and Yanworth (2015), second in the Neptune and winner of the Ascot Hurdle recently.
Jeremiah McGrath keeps the ride on the Westerner, Lough Derg Spirit. The only problem he had with the horse at Kempton was pulling him up after the race!
Captain Forez was third at Newbury to Jenkins, whom I put up in my Fortune Cookies as a long-range tip to win one of the big novice-hurdle events at Cheltenham.
Keep In Line has already been seen in a Supreme Trial, like today’s, at Cheltenham itself. The ground was too soft that day and Alan King welcomes the better ground here to give the gelding more experience before a winter break.
The situation with Capitaine is almost identical. A big baby who won easily on a sound surface but didn’t like the mud at Haydock and Paul Nicholls grabs essential extra experience for him here.
Lough Derg Spirit’s stablemate, Thomas Campbell, has already won at Cheltenham and over today’s CD. As a son of Yeats related through the dam to a Cadran winner, he should have bags of stamina and clearly has the speed.
Like the Jonjo situation in the novices’ handicap, Nicky Henderson, who has won this race twice in the last five years, seems to have cornered the prize.
POLITOLOGUE A NICHOLLS GIANT
2.30 Ascot Though nowhere near the quality of Simonsig (2012), the last two winners of this – both for Paul Nicholls – have been useful, and the stable hat-trick seeker today, Politologue, could be the best of them.
Though he beat Vintage Clouds 10 lengths at Haydock that didn’t stop me putting up Vintage Clouds for a stamina test at Catterick and I was very nearly right.
Politologue is a giant of a horse and the softer the ground the better, which is also true of Rock The Kasbah, who was outgalloped by O O Seven in the Steel Plate and Sections at Cheltenham but still had Monday’s winner, Theinval, behind him.
3.05 Ascot After yet another sequence of novices races, the only handicap here today is this one for conditionals.
There are all sorts of possibilites but I will have a pound on Chase End Charlie for Tom Lacey, who has already beaten his previous best season for winners, and is currently two out of three.
Chase End Charlie returns to hurdles after a spell chasing. When he broke his maiden over the smaller obstacles, he beat Ami Desbois, who has been placed twice since in Graded hurdles, and Moidore, who landed back-to-back wins soon afterwards.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked 1 to 9 for strength)
BET 5pts win I’DLIKETHE OPTION and 3pts win CHAMPAGNE AT TARA (1.20 Ascot)
BET 6pts win LOUGH DERG SPIRIT and 4pt win THOMAS CAMPBELL (1.55 Ascot)
BET 9pts win (nap) POLITOLOGUE (2.30 Ascot)
BET 2pts win and place CHASE END CHARLIE (3.05 Ascot)
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