FOLLOW UP ON STOTT AS HEIR TO THE TOP JOCKEY SPOT: Daqman celebrates the success of the two Kevins at Ascot yesterday – Stott and Ryan – hoping for a follow-up win from them at Redcar. He opposes the English raider in the German 1,000 Guineas, which is explained by his form revelations about the early Classics at Newmarket. Is Stott the heir to Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore, whom he beat in a memorable photo-finish to the Diamond Jubilee?
DAQMAN DARES BLUE WIND NAP AGAINST BALLYDOYLE: Who Dares Wins (WON evens) kept Daqman out of the poorhouse yesterday and today he dares a nap against Aidan O’Brien in the Blue Wind Stakes at Leopardstown tonight. Headlines:
🔹 GUINEAS ROUTED IN ASCOT WEEK
🔹 LOOK OUT! DEMOCRACY IS COMING
🔹 AMMA GRACE TO PUT WELD ON TOP
GUINEAS ROUTED IN ASCOT WEEK
A star is born. But 12 careers crash. The Ascot meeting this week completed Frankie Dettori’s haul of the Group-1 races at Royal Ascot and launched Kevin Stott to stardom with, back to back, a double in the Diamond Jubilee and the Wokingham Stakes
But it also demolished the Guineas – both 1,000 and 2,000 – just 14 days after they were run in this closed-door season.
Eight 2,000 Guineas runners reappeared and were all beaten; four from the 1,000 Guineas suffered the same fate. A dozen defeats. Unprecedented. In so short a time; unimaginable.
Will you back Kameko and Love next time they run? Are they still best of a moderate lot? Here are the results for Guineas horses who ran at Ascot (Newmarket order-in on the left).
2,000 GUINEAS
1 Kameko not yet raced again
2 Wichita 3rd to Palace Pier, St James’s Palace Stakes, Saturday
3 Pinatubo 2nd to Palace Pier, St James’s Palace Stakes, Saturday
5 Juan Elcano 4th to Russian Emperor, Hampton Court Stakes, Wednesday
7 Starcat 15th to Khaloosy, Britannia Stakes, Thursday
8 New World Tapestry 5th to Russian Emperor, Hampton Court Stakes, Wednesday
9 Kenzai Warrior 6th to Russian Emperor, Hampton Court Stakes, Wednesday
10 Royal Dornoch 7th to Palace Pier, St James’s Palace Stakes, Saturday
11 Arizona 6th to Palace Pier, St James’s Palace Stakes, Saturday
1,000 GUINEAS
1 Love not yet raced again
2 Cloak of Spirits 5th to Alpine Star, Coronation Stakes, Saturday
3 Quadrilateral 3rd to Alpine Star, Coronation Stakes, Saturday
4 Final Song 7th to Molatham, Jersey Stakes, Thursday
7 Millisle 5th to Golden Horde, Commonwealth Cup, Friday
9 Rose Of Kildare runs in the German 1,000 Guineas today.
LOOK OUT! DEMOCRACY IS COMING
⭕ 2.30 Dusseldorf (German 1,000 Guineas) As a left-over from the weeks of playing the French and German cards, before England and then Ireland resumed racing, we have an interest in this fillies’ Classic.
We made a Fortune Cookie of Peter Schiergen’s Democracy when she failed to get a clear run, beaten a neck, in her trial here a month ago.
You may remember that Schiergen was the man who trained Danedream to win the Arc (2011) and then beat Nathaniel in the King George (2012).
Mark Johnston hopes that the 1,000-Guineas form, in which Rose Of Kildare was beaten 11 lengths, is good enough for this (see story above). Democracy was 9-2 with Ladbrokes this morning, thankyou Mark.
⭕ 3.15 Redcar Karl Burke and Ben Curtis, who won the Albany with Dandalla, are represented by True Mason in first-time cheekpieces.
Kevin Ryan and Kevin Stott, who landed the memorable Diamond Jubilee and Wokingham double, have The Great Heir challenging for favouritism.
That spot is held by Redcar CD-winner Arbalet, whose trainer, David O’Meara, was so close to putting egg on my face with Summerghand in the Wokingham (thankyou Kevin and Kevin).
The Great Heir would go close if resuming where he left off in the autumn, narrowly beaten a grade higher than this at Doncaster, but gelding in the close season could see him return to his two-year-old days when he won here and then took a huge £300,000 pot on Town Moor.
Gelding and the move to David O’Meara may also revive Arbalet, second in the Ascot International nearly two years ago now.
True Mason has kept good company but won only his maiden, always a bad sign. BETDAQ Exchange 5.2 The Great Heir was my bet.
AMMA GRACE TO PUT WELD ON TOP
⭕ 5.15 Leopardstown (Blue Wind Stakes) Jim Bolger has won six of these, Dermot Weld five. That’s the usual head-to-head, with only two wins, well spaced out, for Aidan O’Brien in the race’s entire history.
But, with Bolger fillies conspicuous by their absence, Dermot Weld tries to fend off two O’Brien runners this evening.
It was Weld who trained Blue Wind herself to win the 1981 Epsom Oaks under Lester Piggott.
His Galileo filly running today, Amma Grace, is sister to his Irish St Leger winner of last season, Search For A Song.
She went clear two out over a mile on today’s course in October, the second filly home winning only recently at Gowran Park.
Amma Grace is headed in the market by One Voice, with the Ballydoyle runners, Snow and Salsa, offered 7.1 and 10.0 respectively in the BETDAQ exchanges as I write.
One Voice is from what the 200 experts billed as a whole string of Classic fillies at Jessica Harrington’s this year.
But this had not proved to be the case until he Coronation Stakes yesterday when her Sea The Moon filly, Alpine Star, looked special in outrunning the American raider Sharing, with Quadrilateral, best of the 1,000 Guineas set, six lengths back from the winner in third and O’Brien’s not-so-wonderful So Wonderful fourth.
When One Voice won her maiden last July, the second followed up almost immediately, winning her own big-field maiden five lengths.
But, on her return at Navan 11 days ago, victory was snatched from her on the line by a 10-1 stablemate, with One Voice, possibly uncomfortable on the firm ground, revealing the awkward head-carriage of a horse with a mind of her own or something bugging her.
Snow was fourth at Thurles in October, un fancied at 14-1 behind what would turn out to be winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Peaceful.
Snow beat her stablemate, the blinkered Salsa, (rider lost whip) at the Curragh eight days back. There was threeparts of a length between them at the line but I still think it falls on Snow to be the main danger to One Voice, though with 7lb to catch up on the Weld runner, if the ratings can be believed.
In fact, A New Dawn is top on the figures, 102 to 99 for One Voice, and she would have a big chance on her Curragh Listed second to Irish 1,000 runner-up, Fancy Blue.
VERDICT: A New Dawn has won only her maiden, always a bad sign, and One Voice has to prove herself after giving away the Navan prize so, with not much between Snow and Salsa, both easy to back, I expect to see Amma Grace (BETDAQ 4.5) carry on the Weld tradition of this race.
The rider to that has to be: the only thing consistent about Group-race three-year-old form in this strange season is that it is continually turned over.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.30 Dusseldorf
FORTUNE COOKIE
BET 20pts win DEMOCRACY
3.15 Redcar (win 20)
BET 5pts win THE GREAT HEIR
5.15 Leopardstown (win 20 nap)
BET 5.75pts win AMMA GRACE
5.45 Leopardstown (win 10)
BET 7pts win PATRICK SARSFIELD
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