226-POINT DIAMOND GAMBLE FAILS BY SHORT HEAD: Daqman’s ton-up bid to crack 500 points profit for Royal Ascot was beaten a short-head yesterday. He took 418 points into the final day but City Light – in fact, backed to win 226.5 in three separate bets – led just before and just after the line, beaten on the nod in the Diamond Jubilee. His big-odds hits at the meeting were:
WON 16-1 SETTLE FOR BAY (Royal Hunt Cup at BETDAQ 18.0)
WON 12-1 EQTIDAAR (Commonwealth Cup at BETDAQ 18.0)
WON 10-1 LAGOSTOVEGAS (Ascot Stakes at 12.0 BETDAQ)
2ND 33-1 SIR CHAUVELIN (w/p, Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes, 47.0 on BETDAQ)
2ND 12-1 CITY LIGHT (w/p, Diamond Jubilee Stakes, from 16.5 on BETDAQ)
DAQMAN STARTED WITH THREE ACES IN HIS HAND: Eqtidaar and City Light were his only ante-post bets for the meeting and his Ascot Five Card Trick, best bets given in the advance of the week, included City Light and these Tuesday, Thursday, Friday bankers:
WON 9-4 WITHOUT PAROLE (St James’s Palace Stakes)
WON 7-4 STRADIVARIUS (Ascot Gold Cup)
WON 12-1 EQTIDAAR (Commonwealth Cup)
NOW HE MARKS YOUR CARD AGAIN FOR THE SUMMER City Light, Eqtidaar, Stradivarius and Without Parole were published weeks ahead of their target races in his Fortune Cookies horses to follow. Look out for a two-day review of the list from tomorrow, which will mark your card for the summer.
CROCKFORD’S HOT DEBUT DRAW
2.05 Gowran Park Christmas is coming and, with Royal Ascot behind us, it’s time to be looking among the two-year-olds for clues to next year.
Aidan O’Brien’s Rostropovich, second in the ’Ascot Derby’ earlier in the week, won this 7f maiden last season and now Christmas, yet another son of Galileo, takes the field for The Lads.
Christmas ran better than the bare form suggests first time out at Leopardstown, but I’ve got my eye on the Camelot colt, well drawn in the one stall.
The name is Crockford, to be saddled by Aidan’s son, Joseph, who won this race a couple of years back.
Crockford’s relatives have been precocious beyond the minimum trip, and I took 7.6 win and place on BETDAQ early mouse.
Smart Files took a big reputation to his Dundalk debut but today is unlikely to be redemption day from stall 14.
Yonkers cost a fortune and is well bred, so maybe my biggest danger, though Ger Lyons is not noted for first-time juvenile winners.
2.35 Gowran Park Staying with the Gowran draw, I noticed Piper Bomb galloping on strongly under his young claimer over the Fairyhouse 6f last week, and today’s extra furlong from gate 2 surely puts him in the money (6.2 taken in the BETDAQ orange).
3.05 Gowran Park With Turbine yet to score in 14 Flat turf starts, and Tribal Path needing a downpour, it looks like a match race between Silverkode and St Brelades Bay, separated by only a length at the Curragh last July.
With Silverkode up 4lb and without a run and St Brelades Bay down 5lb, it must be very close between them now.
Only last November, St Brelades Bay (7.2 offers) won within a week of his previous run, so don’t worry about the gap of only five days since his last start.
RYAN FOREVER ON HAT-TRICK DAY
3.30 Pontefract Sir Michael Stoute, who took back the mantle of Mr Ascot this week, won two on today’s Pontefract card a year ago, including this Listed fillies’ stakes.
Today Stoute has Heavenly Bliss (2.00), Hazarfiya (2.30) and and another one in the 4.30. I’ll take the two Ryan Moore mounts, which I’ve named.
Moore also has a big chance in this Listed, which seems to have a draw bias as strong as Gowran Park’s: stalls 1, 2 and 3 have won it six times in eight years.
He is in gate 3 on Alwaysandforever, a nine-lengths Windsor winner who, like Cribbs Causeway and Isabel De Urbina, has a Group entry, but I’m sure connections of any one of them would gladly take black type from this race.
Luca Cumani has been in form lately and is keen on the chances of Alwaysandforever, 2.8 offers on BETDAQ making him clear favourite.
Roger Charlton (Cribbs Causeway) had a couple of winners on Friday but only with low-level horses.
Ralph Beckett (Isabel de Urbina) hasn’t had the quality fillies this year but that one did beat Titi Makfi at Goodwood in May, though is now 3lb worse off, which puts them close together.
SHO ME THE WAY TO GO HOME..
4.00 Pontefract Cup Zakatal hasn’t won a turf Flat race since 2009; Cool Macavity not since 2012.
Suegioo’s turf Flat strike rate is 1-46 over six years, the win coming at Chester in May, 2014.
Becky The Thatcher beat Graceful Lady half a length in this same stayers’ series on today’s course a fortnight back over a furlong shorter.
If Darragh Keenan is worth his claim, it sways today’s rematch in Graceful Lady’s favour but that doesn’t account for Becky’s tenacity or the jockeyship of Franny Norton.
Wind Place And Sho, fourth behind them, dwelt that day but won this very race off a 10lb higher mark two years ago on similar firmish ground
Frederic was fourth in the 2017 running (4lb lower now), having won the earlier shorter version that Becky The Thatcher took this year.
Medicine Hat was a CD winner under George Moore and his reappearance in a ladies’ race over almost a mile shorter 17 days ago was only an exercise canter, a prep for this.
VERDICT: An intriguing mix of no-hopers and horses tied together by course form in the same stayers’ series.
The 7.0 BETDAQ offer Wind Place And Sho has won this with 9st 9lb so ought to be a win-and-place bet, with 8st 11lb, seemingly having had a ‘look see’ at the front two a fortnight ago.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.00 Pontefract (win 20)
BET 11pts win HEAVENLY BLISS
(if lose)
2.30 Pontefract (stakes saver)
BET 11pts win HAZARFIYA
2.05 Gowran Park (win 20)
BET 3pts win and place CROCKFORD
2.35 Gowran Park (win 20)
BET 4pts win and place PIPER BOMB
3.05 Gowran Park (win 20)
BET 3.25pts win and place ST BRELADES BAY
3.30 Pontefract (supernap)
BET 20pts win ALWAYSANDFOREVER
4.00 Pontefract (win 20)
BET 3.25pts win and place WIND PLACE AND SHO
4.30 Pontefract (win 20)
BET 2pts win QUEEN OF KALAHARI
DAQ MULTIPLES
BET 3pts win double HEAVENLY BLISS (2.00 Pontefract) with
ALWAYSANDFOREVER (3.30 Pontefract) and 1pt win treble the same two with WIND PLACE AND SHO (4.00 Pontefract)
BET 3pts win double HAZARFIYA (2.30 Pontefract) with
ALWAYSANDFOREVER (3.30 Pontefract) and 1pt win treble the same two with WIND PLACE AND SHO (4.00 Pontefract)
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