2-1 WINNER MAKES FIVE NAPS OUT OF SEVEN: Daqman landed back-to-back naps for the third time inside a week yesterday, giving him five winning best bets out of seven, two of them supernaps. Yesterday’ strike was best of them all at 2-1. Here they are in reverse order:
WON 2-1 CIAOADIOSIMDONE (yesterday’s nap)
WON 4-5 FOX NORTON (Sunday supernap)
2ND 5-4 GUMBALL (Saturday nap)
Pulled up WILLIAM HENRY (Friday nap)
WON 4-6 DINARIA DES OBEAUX (Thursday supernap)
WON 8-11 KINGS SHIELD (Wednesday nap)
WON 11-8 BOYHOOD (Tuesday nap)
STAKING PLAN AGAINST THE FAVOURITES: Today Daqman opposes two favourites inside 40 minutes, with bets on the second favourites, each staked to win 20 points including the nap. He then takes two from another small field within the hour in the hope that Daq Multiples can boost the profits.
GORDON’S TROYTOWN FOUR-TIMER BID
It’s a punter’s race. And it also ‘belongs’ to Gordon Elliott, who is going for a four-timer. But Sunday’s Ladbrokes Troytown Chase currently has a hex on it.
The last four winners of the Navan three-miler were all excellent types, but have never won another race in a total of 54 attempts!
Gordon’s first of his hat-trick, Balbriggan, was three wins from four starts when he lined up against 24 others in November, 2014, with this column in on a coup which resulted in success at 4-1 favourite.
The form book describes it as a ’remarkable gamble’ and his victory as ‘straightforward,’ and I was among those excited into writing him up for the Grand National.
But Balbriggan, a safe and reliable jumper, was fatally injured on the flat after a fence at Aintree. I really felt the loss. He had been a cause of causes for me.
The trainer came back with two more winners in 2015 (Riverside City) and 2016, when Empire Of Dirt was another one ‘found’ by this column and a handsome winner for us at 12-1.
This year’s race could be more of a punt than Saturday’s Lancashire Chase at Haydock Park, for which only a handful will go to post.
There are still 50 probables for Navan, with Elliott’s name against 12 of them, his highest rated being Roi Des Francs (149), and two on 148, Mala Beach and Potters Point.
But two of Gordon’s Troytown winners were out of the handicap, rated only 121 and 115, which is where you’ll find Poormans Hill on a mark of 116, despite five wins (consecutive) and a second hiking the six-year-old improver two stone exactly since September.
DALY KNOWS THE SCORE FOR FLEUR
1.20 Fakenham Henry Daly has a 50% strike rate at Fakenham and Kayfleur, who has won before after a long absence, is dropped 10lb on her rating of this time last year, despite running third in the Tommy Whittle.
Maid Of Milan is in and out and sometimes unruly (whipped round at the start before winning at Newton Abbot). She was outgunned at Uttoxeter after trying to make most of the running. The winner that day was trained by Henry Daly, who also won this race last year with Queen Spud. It’s Daly, Daly, Daly! Sounds like a daily nap.
EQUUS IS BRED TO CONTINUE HIS RUN
2.00 Southwell Equus Secretus is not exactly a hidden horse as the name implies, having won two out of two, but he is still very much unexposed.
First of all, he has won just the once under Rules; second of all, he’s stepping up another half mile on his Huntingdon win on Guy Fawkes’ night.
The sire is 45% winners to runners over fences and the dam was out of a 3m-hurdle winner, so Equus’ future seems to be before him, as they say.
As opposed, I imagine, to that of Playful Prince whose future seems to be behind him, saddled with form figures of PUP. Nothing to wag his tail about.
The obvious threat – in fact, he’s favourite as I write – must be Another Stowaway, not bad in bumpers but sure to be a hot favourite here on the strength of his being runner-up at Aintree three weeks ago to back-to-back winner On The Blind Side.
The snag with accepting that form at face value is that he started at 80-1 as if connections considered him not worth so much as a postage stamp each way.
RED FLAG SO PARK MAY PREVAIL
2.20 Fakenham Paul Nicholls is running out of excuses for Red Hanrahan, withdrawn at Worcester last week for ‘unsuitable ground’ (in fact, not much different from today’s).
Nicholls had been reported as saying that Red Hanrahan is difficult to get right. ‘When he is right, he might win round one of the gaff tracks’, quote unquote.
The Ditcheat cavalry is at Warwick today and it’s hard to rely on Red to be the lone marauder at this Norfolk venue – particularly at the morning odds on – with form figures of F031P0P220.
He could take this if in the mood but, even when he won a race, a novice hurdle at Fontwell in April last year, he ‘veered violently right’.
He’s been second twice in novices chases like today’s which is distinctly better form than The Lion Dancer, tailed off on his chase debut, and Kingston Mimosa, who’s never jumped a fence in public and hasn’t scored since a novice hurdle a year last June.
But Holbrook Park has run some decent races since a time off having treatment for a wind problem. He’s related to winning chasers and wears cheekpieces first time. It’s whichever donkey brays on the day.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 10.75pts win (nap) KAYFLEUR (1.20 Fakenham)
BET 10.4pts win EQUUS SECRETUS (2.00 Southwell)
DAQ MULTIPLES: BET 2 x 1pt win trebles the above two with RED HANRAHAN and HOLBROOK PARK (2.20 Fakenham)
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