DAQMAN HAMMERS PRICEWISE 8-1: PROFIT NOW 241 Daqman yesterday went 8-1 clear of Pricewise of the Racing Post, as he increased his nine-day tally to 24 winning bets for a profit of 241 points to recommended stakes. The gap between them in the value challenge widened to more than 44 points (Daqman +24.50, Pricewise –19.75) to a single unit on each selection at SP.
PHOTO FINISH AT 11-2 FOR ANOTHER GOLD CUP WIN With only today’s Irish National left before a big-race break, Daqman struck in two more top features yesterday, taking the Ryanair Gold Cup at Fairyhouse (Al Boum Photo WON 11-2) and napping Lackaneen Leader for a place in a championship race he said would go to the favourite, Laurina (WON 2-11).
WON 11-2 AL BOUM PHOTO (Ryanair Gold Cup)
WON (place nap) 2ND 8-1 LACKANEEN LEADER (from 20.0 on BETDAQ)
IRISH NATIONAL VERDICT AND SUPERNAP AT WOLVER Daqman bids for a hat-trick of naps today on AW at Wolverhampton, after a washout for English racing on turf because of the heavy rain. The Fairyhouse Irish National meeting becomes the focal point for the betting shops. Stay indoors and keep your Daq up!
DAQMAN’S 11 BIG WINS IN 9 DAYS
NINE days, ELEVEN winning big-race bets. That’s the Daqman score with his sensational run due for a break after today’s Irish Grand National:
WON 8-1 CITY LIGHT (AW Sprint Championship, 18.5 BETDAQ, Friday)
WON 8-1 ROKSANA (NH Mares’ Final, last Saturday)
WON 8-1 WILLIAM OF ORANGE (Two-Mile Hurdle Final, Saturday)
WON 6-1 ON THE GO AGAIN (Irish Lincolnshire, 14.0 BETDAQ, last Sunday)
WON 11-2 AL BOUM PHOTO (Ryanair Gold Cup, yesterday)
WON 5-1 ADDEYBB (Lincoln Handicap winner in three, last Saturday)
WON 4-1 BENBATL (Dubai Turf, Saturday)
WON 7-4 MENDELSSOHN (UAE Derby, nap Saturday)
WON 6-4 VAZIRABAD (Dubai Gold Cup, Saturday)
WON 10-11 ZABEEL PRINCE (Doncaster Mile supernap, last Saturday)
WON (place nap) 2ND 8-1 LACKANEEN LEADER (Mares’ Novice Hurdle Championship Final yesterday, from 20.0 BETDAQ)
HILL TOP TO BEAT UNLUCKY 13
5.00 Fairyhouse (Irish Grand National) You have to be a Graded-race horse to win an Irish National with more than 10st 13lb. It’s been done just twice this century. Bellshill could be one of those quality exceptions to the low-weight rule.
Victory for Bellshill would put Willie Mullins back at the helm for the Irish trainers’ title, in defiance of 13 runners being saddled in the race today by the current leader, Gordon Elliott.
Bellshill has a hurdles Grade 1 on his CV and the Grade-3 Bobbyjo Chase on today’s course, named after the 1998 Irish National winner.
Bobbyjo, and two others, Numbersixvalverde and Rhyme N’Reason, went on to win the Liverpool original another season.
Bellshill strikes Mullins as in the same mould. In fact, he was undecided about whether to go to Aintree this time around, but now hopes to take the same route as those three heroes, Bellshill having had just five chases so far.
There also seems to have been the same change of heart about Pairofbrowneyes, who has had just the one run for Willie Mullins, taking the Leinster National at Gowran Park but incurring a 9lb penalty in the process.
The Thyestes and Ten Up winner, Monbeg Notorious, looks dangerous as leader of the Elliott entourage of 13, but sequence winners don’t usually win Nationals.
And Monbeg was slammed 18 lengths by Moulin A Vent in December before that one made a bad mistake behind him in the Ten Up.
Also, Dounikos, who flopped at Cheltenham in the RSA, had beaten Monbeg at Gowran in November but that was a mile shorter than today.
Squouateur and Mall Dini were second and third in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham. It was Squouateur’s first run after a wind op, and Mall Dini’s first in blinkers; he seemed to stay on the better.
Last year’s Irish National second, fourth and fifth try again, but runner-up Bless The Wings (Elliott) is 13 now, and the two others, Thunder And Roses and General Principle, were remote.
The fancied Oscar Knight unseated that day but has been brought back off the same mark for another tilt at this, mainly over hurdles.
Arkwrisht ran second in the Kerry National and fourth in the Cork Grand National, but was out of sorts in between when he fell in the Munster National.
His pedigree says he should stay, and Rachael Blackmore is set for a good ride in yet another me-too for lady riders (she was third in the race last year). The worry is that Arkwrisht has had enough gruelling Nationals for one season.
VERDICT: Willie Mullins has two outstanding candidates, 12.0 BETDAQ offer Bellshill and 8.2 Pairofbrowneyes, who swerve Aintree for this. Mall Dini (9.8) looked strong at the finish of the Kim Muir.
1 Bellshill, 2 Pairofbrowneyes, 3 Mall Dini, 4 Monbeg Notorious, 5 Arkwrisht
CHARM THE BIRD OFF A TREE..
2.45 Fairyhouse Four of the last six winners of this Grade-2 novice hurdle had run at Cheltenham, but only one had won there.
Veneer Of Charm won the Fred Winter, but still looked green and can improve again. Sharjah and Getabird were down the field in the Supreme Novices (Sharjah eighth), in which Mengli Khan was third.
Getabird had run away from Mengli Khan at Punchestown in January in a sequence of five wins in a row, and this Willie Mullins hot-pot is officially 12lb better than Gordon Elliott’s Hardline yet the same weight today.
But can they give 16lb to Gordon Elliott’s Veneer Of Charm. On this one, the handicapper says that Willie’s Getabird has 2lb to spare but Charm could easily improve that much.
It’s an early clash of the two top trainers, with Veneer Of Charm an enormous offer at 9.6 on BETDAQ, and Getabird my stakes saver at slightly better than even money
3.50 Fairyhouse Here we go again for this Grade-2 hurdle: Mullins 7 runners, Elliott 3.
The winner usually comes from the front of the market and had swerved Cheltenham for this.
Bleu Berry won the County Hurdle in a fierce battle with Topofthegame, Barra in third, and the market prefers Coquin Mans, though beaten by Jezki over shorter in the Istabraq Hurdle in the autumn.
Augusta Kate and Diamond Cauchois chased home RSA star Presenting Percy in the Galmoy in January.
Kate seems to be a nearly horse but Diamond sparkled again, despite a small field for the Ladbrokes Boyne Hurdle at Navan in February, winning impressively with last year’s Punchestown festival champion Bapaume more than 12 lengths adrift, or did that flatter the winner.
If Identity Thief gets the accolades for a fine effort in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle, why not Forge Meadow, who beat him at Gowran Park?
Well, that was over the minimum and, at today’s 2m 4f, Forge Meadow had been slammed eight lengths by Let’s Dance in December.
Let’s dance is discarded in turn, as a dodgy jumper. So I’ll have my pound on an improver, Diamond Cauchois (6.2 BETDAQ), in a hard race to bet in.
HERE’S A POWER SUPERNAP
3.45 Wolverhampton William Haggas won this last season with a horse having its reappearance run, and can do the same again here with Society Power, a strong order this morning (but a shade better than evens on BETDAQ), and expected to take in a top turf handicap this Spring.
Willie won the Lincoln and landed two AW Championships, while today’s jockey, James Doyle currently has a 40% strike rate.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 30, unless stated)
2.45 Fairyhouse
BET 3.5pts win VENEER OF CHARM
BET 3.5pts (stakes saver) GETABIRD
3.45 Wolverhampton (to win 20)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win SOCIETY POWER
3.50 Fairyhouse
BET 6pts win DIAMOND CAUCHOIS
5.00 Fairyhouse
BET 4pts win PAIROFBROWNEYES
BET 3.5pts win MALL DINI
BET 2.75pts win BELLSHILL
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