SUPERNAP HEARTS TRUMPS EIGHT WINS IN THREE DAYS: Daqman has landed EIGHT winners since racing resumed, including yesterday’s supernap, Queenohearts (WON 13-8), which was his fourth winning banker out of five. Among the eight winners in three days:
WON 8-1 THE CULL BANK (Thursday)
WON 9-2 COPPER GONE WEST (Wednesday)
WON 13-8 QUEENOHEARTS (Friday nap)
WON 13-8 PISTOL WHIPPED (Friday)
WON 10-11 CHRISTOPHER WOOD (Thursday)
DAQMAN ON THE LINE BIG TIME AT ASCOT AND HAYDOCK: Today Daqman lines up a supernap, three Fortune Cookie horses to follow and value bets in three big races at Ascot and Haydock against Pricewise:
FORTUNE COOKIES (profit £506.76)
RONS DREAM 2.20 Wincanton
CLAN DES OBEAUX 2.45 Ascot
ROBINSFIRTH 3.35 Haydock
DAQMAN v PRICEWISE (score 23-15)
3.20 Ascot (‘This handicap is a Ditcheat duel’)
3.35 Haydock (‘Can the claimer pull his weight!’)
3.55 Ascot (The improver is 6.2 on BETDAQ)
SUPERNAPS (Four out of five)
RONS DREAM 2.20 Wincanton
RONS DREAM DOUBLE MAXIMUM
2.10 Ascot Black Corton won the Reynoldstown a year ago when Paul Nicholls described him as ‘all class’ but he has not scored since losing his novice status and, stuck on the handicapper’s original 155 assessment, has run in only one handicap (pulled up).
The last time Lorcan Williams was used for Art Mauresque (9.0 BETDAQ offers), he was the Nicholls second string, as he is today, leading at the last in the Autumn Gold Cup at Cheltenham, only to be run out of it by the Silver Trophy winner, Traffic Fluide.
Older horses do well in this (four aged 10, one at 11 in the last eight seasons) and, though Coneygree seems to be only crowd bait these days, Regal Encore is 2-2 at Ascot at this Listed level and had the same poor form in the lead up to winning this last year.
Coneygree won a three-runner race in the autumn of 2015, his sole success since Gold Cup glory in the March of that year.
Reikers Island (4.2 on BETDAQ) led after three out until fading in the final half-furlong of the Mandarin Chase at Newbury in December, and drops back a quarter of a mile here with a featherweight.
The ground is right for Calipto but success has come at 2m.4f and he faded out of the Great Yorkshire over 3m.
*SUPERNAP The 2.20 Wincanton has cut up for Rons Dream, a Fortune Cookie, who was 2.42 on BETDAQ this morning. So there are 20 points to win twice!
FLY TOP RATED BUT BETDAQ 6.8
2.30 Gowran Park (Red Mills Chase) Pity Presenting Percy is not here but any one of these could win, or run well, and shorten up for Gold Cup or Grand National.
Edwulf is least likely to, having seemingly lost his form since a surprise 33-1 winner of the Irish Gold Cup a year or so back.
Killultagh Vic had to come here after his length-and-a-half third to Presenting Percy over 3m on this course in January, but that was the Galmoy Hurdle and he has little or no chase form since he won as a novice three years ago.
Light rain was forecast for today and Monalee needs more than that: all his wins (and his second in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup) have come on soft-heavy
Anibale Fly, a 6.8 BETDAQ offer, doesn’t like the going too fast and doesn’t like it heavy. Today’s yielding-soft, on which he won all three of his chases, is ideal.
He is top rated today, after a PP Chase win (2017), Gold Cup third and Grand National fourth – both 2018 – and I’ve taken 39.0 on BETDAQ for the National in this column.
TRUMP HAS THIS RING FENCED
3.20 Ascot (BF Hurdle) Lisp, Getaway Trump or Al Dancer would be the first to carry more than 11st 7lb to victory in this since Persian War in 1968 but 10 of the 14 runners in this handicap are weighted in a 9lb range.
Only one horse older than seven has scored in the last 23 years, which knocks Lisp’s stablemate William H Bonney, whose form at this Grade-3 level is 0000000.
Lisp has progressed in all three races this season but places in the Gerry Feilden and the Ascot Trophy in December cost him an 8lb rise without winning, so he must improve again.
Al Dancer stepped out of novice company when completing a hurdles hat-trick at Cheltenham, for which he’s been punished 12lb.
Getaway Trump is still a novice but the horse that beat him in the Challow Hurdle was landing a four-timer and the third was attempting a hat-trick. Novices have won this seven times since 2010.
The ante-post gamble of the week has been his Paul Nicholls stable companion, Mont Des Avaloirs (14-1 to 7-1 and 8-1 with some bookies but 11.5 on BETDAQ this morning), 5lb better for the short-head he finished behind Lisp in the Gerry Feilden.
Punters can forgive him his failure just before Christmas to confirm the form with Lisp here at Ascot. The race came too soon.
Progressive and lightly raced is Zanza, while Ar Mest, making steady progress, is with a stable that’s won this three times since 2007. Despite a penalty, gets a stone from the fancied horses (too) high up the handicap. His stable has had three winners in three days but does he have the class?
Verdict: Paul Nicholls appears to have booked this one for Ditcheat, though he hasn’t won it since Zarkandar (2012). Getaway Trump at 4.7 this morning can duel the finish with Mont Des Avaloirs.
ROBINSFIRTH CAN GET REVENGE
3.35 Haydock (Grand National Trial) The Smiths are absolutely superb with their chasers, bringing them along slowly, so much so in fact that I ran out of patience for Wakanda to get a big one, and scratched him from my Fortune Cookies just before he landed a gamble in the Peter Marsh.
Here he is back at Haydock, but stepped up in trip and 2lb worse off with the Peter Marsh runner-up, Robinsfirth (running after a long lay-off that day), who replaced him in my horses-to-follow list. Ballyarthur, fourth, is also better off by the requisite amount to force a triple dead-heat!
In fact, the fifth to finish, Red Infantry, looks well in at the weights now, running on that day as if today’s extra two-and-a-half furlongs were needed, and blinkered first time now. Jumps exceptionally well.
Royal Vacation has done well in marathons this winter, which is why his weight is now too high (on all known form).
Ramses De Teillee ran a huge race in the Welsh National, second to the Cotswold Chase and Ladbrokes Trophy runner-up, Elegant Escape.
Yala Enki, who will be 3lb higher than when winning this Trial on heavy last year, was third at Chepstow and is better off with Ramses (Ballyoptic behind). He has terrific chance here if his claimer can pull his weight!
Impulsive Star and The Two Amigos have a lot more to do but Le Vieux Lion Rouge is back on the same mark as when winning this race two years ago.
Verdict: I have 20 points win – as a Fortune Cookie – Robinsfirth (who was 8.4 on BETDAQ this morning), and 12.5 Yala Enki seems best value of the rest.
THE IMPROVER IS 6.2 ON BETDAQ
3.55 Ascot Chase I guessed that three I discarded from the Fortune Cookies would meet each other along the way, so making level stakes unrewarding: Cyrname (handicap level), Fox Norton (half a length off Politologue but seven lengths off Altior) and Politologue himself (too many to beat in his division).
In fact, they are rated 168, 166 and 165, and I wouldn’t even touch the race but for my challenge to Pricewise.
Waiting Patiently edged in front of them all on 170 after beating Cue Card and Frodon in this Ascot Chase last year and was a shorter price than Politologue (didn’t stay) when hampered out of the King George when Bristol De Mai fell.
I thought Paul Nicholls would be calling this Politologue’s gold cup but he tells the trade paper that there’s nothing between the grey and Cyrname, which suggests that Cyrname has improved at home. Appeals at 6.2 on BETDAQ.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.10 Ascot (win 30)
BET 10pts win REIKERS ISLAND
BET 3.75pts win ART MAURESQUE
2.20 Wincanton (supernap)
BET 20pts win RONS DREAM
2.30 Gowran Park (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 8.5pts win ANIBALE FLY
3.20 Ascot (win 30)
BET 8pts win GETAWAY TRUMP
BET 2.75 MONT DES AVALOIRS
3.35 Haydock (win 30)
BET 2.5pts win and place YALA ENKI
3.55 Ascot (win 30)
BET 5.75pts win CYRNAME
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