NOT THAT ONE! NAPS SEQUENCES END AT FIVE: Daqman landed two more winners yesterday, Not That Fuisse (WON 13-8) and Court House (WON 8-11), though the nap, Cenotaph, just failed by a short-head, looking unlucky, a tad late into overdrive, but ending the winning sequences of current naps and recent supernaps at five each.
DAQMAN BIDS FOR AN ACE AT EVERY MEETING: Today Daqman picks the best at each of five meetings, giving him a five-card trick, at Catterick, Clonmel, Leicester and the two AW meetings, Chelmsford and Southwell. A handful of aces?
MIDNIGHT COUP IN FIVE-CARDER
BOY’S RATED BEST IN THE PACK
JACK COULD BE A LEICESTER ACE
ANOTHER SHARP DEAL FROM SUE
KING COMPLETES THE NAP HAND
MIDNIGHT COUP IN FIVE-CARDER
1.20 Southwell We start with a pair of ladies, jockeys Rachel Richardson and Rachael Blackmore, with our first picture card Midnight Malibu.
Trainer Tim Easterby is 20411, just five handed since Christmas, and 6.0 BETDAQ offer Midnight Malibu returns to her favourite track.
The mare races in touch from a low draw today, both essential on this short 5f at Southwell, and I reckon this is a job which warrants a bull’s-eye bet.
She ran well in better company at Newcastle on the last day, three lengths off the winner Outrage, who scored again on the same course on Tuesday.
Midnight Malibu has not raced at Southwell since she was beaten a neck, 5lb higher than today, with Rachel aboard, not particularly fancied at 10-1.
Earlier, on the first day of last year, she completed back-to-back wins on the course. So 112 at Southwell.
BOY’S RATED BEST IN THE PACK
1.25 Clonmel Rachael Blackmore is on a hurdles hat-trick here for Henry De Bromhead, having ridden the last two of of the Knockeen yard’s 10 winners since Christmas.
Her mount, Daybreak Boy, Listed class on the Flat, is the ratings leader in the race as a big-field maiden-hurdle winner for her at Navan in the autumn.
Dropping back in class now after failing in Grade-3 company back on that track in November. The 60-day break has put him right again for this.
Cheekpieces then blinkers have procured just the one win for Count Simon in seven tries, so biggest threat appears to be Epswell for Willie Mullins, ridden by Paul Townend, who has just edged ahead of Rachael 74-71 in the Irish Jumps Trainers’ championship race.
JACK COULD BE A LEICESTER ACE
2.20 Leicester Master Work, out of his depth at Cheltenham on the last day, had completed back-to-back success when a winner here at Leicester in November, but they were poor races and he was ridden out to win them.
He and The Green Ogre are class 4 at best. Flashing Glance has won a class 3 but that was on soft ground before he went chasing.
Affaire d’Honneur was well overrated as a novice and had to drop 33lb before scoring again, two years on, in a class 5 in September.
Thounder fell apart after winning at Wincanton in 2017 and was tailed off in the mud at Sandown on the last day. Only lightly raced, he could do better on today’s ground.
I fancy this is a chance for 6.0 shot Mad Jack Mytton, whose stable turned out Tedham to land a pot for me a few days into the new year.
A class-3 hurdles winner on good ground at Aintree, Mad Jack was an excellent fourth in a big field at Cheltenham in October, 5lb higher than today under Jonjo junior. Blinkers back on.
ANOTHER SHARP DEAL FROM SUE
2.45 Catterick (North Yorkshire Grand National) Sue Smith is on a four-timer in this, having landed three in a row, the last two with big weights: Straidnahanna and I Just Know, both aged eight, both carrying 11st 10lb.
Now her Catterick course winner Sharp Response, also eight, has to give weight all round off 11st 12lb.
Sue has had three winners since Christmas, the highlight Midnight Shadow landing the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham for my Fortune Cookies squad on the first day of the year, so booking a place in the Stayers Hurdle at the festival.
Sharp Response also ran well at Cheltenham behind Rock The Kasbah in November, his second try at 26f or more, after qualifying for the Challenger Staying Chase Final with an impressive nine-lengths victory in the qualifier at Carlisle.
Good ground today will suit him better than the Haydock mudbath for the Tommy Whittle, when he stayed on a distant fourth.
Greyed A prefers a really testing surface and has more or less remained static in the ratings in four races since scoring at Fontwell a year ago. He likes to front-run but almost blundered the race away that day.
He is one of a pair of Richard Newland runners who have travelled up the A1 today with Sam Twiston-Davies booked, the second of them Jimmy Rabbitte (3.50), a seeming sure-fire scorer at odds on, but was Dr Newland’s only winner in a quiet spell since Christmas.
In this National, the mare Same Circus has been beaten in three consecutive races on good ground in between two soft-surface successes.
As he is second favourite, I thought it made Sharp response even better value at 32 profit for every 20 staked on BETDAQ this morning.
KING COMPLETES THE NAP HAND
5.15 Chelmsford The penalised pair, New King and Themaxwecan, should take care of this novice stakes, both sent out by trainers in form.
Mark Johnston has had three winners at Lingfield since Christmas, though Themaxwecan has not been seen since his Bath success in October, which was franked in a class 2 at Newmarket by the runner-up, Skymax.
New King is ahead on experience (two runs) and on fitness, scoring at Wolverhampton last month, and The Maxwecan was very easy to back this morning.
New King, a son of Frankel, was slowly away in both starts, which were over a mile and today’s step up in trip should see some of his potential realised.
John Gosden’s last 10 starters have finished 2121204013, the winners all ridden by today’s jockey, Robert Havlin.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.20 Southwell (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 10pts win MIDNIGHT MALIBU
1.25 Clonmel (win 20)
BET 11pts win DAYBREAK BOY
2.20 Leicester (win 20)
BET 5pts win MAD JACK MYTTON
2.45 Catterick (win 20)
BET 12pts win SHARP RESPONSE
5.15 Chelmsford (supernap)
BET 20pts win NEW KING
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