VALUE AT ANY PRICE: THAT’S WHY DAQMAN ECLIPSES THE REST: Just three months gone and Daqman leads the Flat season for winners at all odds, the long and the short, so check out his value clash with Pricewise at the Curragh and Uttoxeter today and don’t miss next week’s countdown to the Coral-Eclipse. The scores are:
DAQMAN 37, PRICEWISE 17
(Daqman + 120.14, Pricewise – 303.50)
SUPERNAPS 8-10 (80%)
LAYS LOGIC 9-13 (70%)
FORTUNE COOKIES 4-8 (50%)
NEXT WEEK: Ahead of next Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, Daqman will bring you:
🔹 RATINGS UPDATE on the three-year-olds
🔹 FORTUNE COOKIES revised list
🔹 ABC GUIDE TO THE CORAL-ECLIPSE
TRIBUTE TO IRISH DERBY RIDES
Whose was the greater effort? I’ve been critical of some high-level jockeyship lately but the Irish Derby finish was superb. The bouquet must go to the winner for a supreme late effort. William Buick on Hurricane Lane prevailed by a neck.
But not before an impeccable ride by Frankie Dettori, playing the sections superbly, and pinching a seemingly unassailable lead.
Yet leaving something in the tank on Lone Eagle that defied Buick blowing up a Hurricane behind him until, literally, the final strides.
The battle of the one-two, rated prior to the race on 112 and 109, opened up such a gap on the 106-rated Wordsworth – seven lengths, in fact – that both will have to be upgraded, the winning time making it clear that it will need to be by quite a way.
Take a look at the completed colts Classic results and see what you think: who is top; off what mark; and what shall we add to our Fortune Cookies horses to follow?
Is this a great year, good year, moderate one? We’ll find out more when the older horses take them on.
I will reveal my own views in the next couple of days before the generations have their midsummer clashes in the Coral-Eclipse and the King George.
VELOCIDAD HAS HIGH VELOCITY
⭕ 2.00 The Curragh Wordsworth, Dubious Affair and Golden Storm yesterday were the proof of the pudding of how certain placed horses at Royal Ascot (my list last Tuesday) fail to score afterwards.
But the Norfolk Stakes, which didn’t have too bad a record (25%), won when its head second, Go Bears Go, went over to Ireland and took the Group-2 Railway Stakes off the home team, beating the Marble Hill one-two, Castle Star and Masseto, and the talking horse Dr Zempf, who was made the 15-8 favourite.
In this fillies’ Group 2 today, Cheerupsleepyjean makes a quick return after placing in the Queen Mary, one of those Royal Ascot races which has failed to produce a single subsequent winner from 12 starts by last year’s second and third.
It’s also against Sleepy Jean that she has two winning rivals to beat who are less exposed and can be expected to improve.
It’s a race Aidan O’Brien has won five times in eight years and Yet his runner today was also well down the field in another Royal Ascot race.
Maybe the colt whose name means ‘speed’ is the one to be on. That’s the Gleaneagles filly Velocidad, who was closest to Sleepy Jean in the market this morning, with Yet easy to back at 5.0.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE value 4.4 Velocidad
PEPPER CAN LAND PRETTY POLLY
⭕ 3.40 The Curragh (Pretty Polly Stakes) Aidan O’Brien has won this with Minding and Magical but both were coming on here after Group-1 wins at Classic or Royal Ascot level.
Yet today he chooses as his sole representative Santa Barbara, who was beaten favourite in the Epsom Oaks, after her fourth, lacking experience, in the 1,000 Guineas on only her second start ever.
Can she make up for it all, now splitting the difference in trip (1m 2f)? She comes into the race only fifth best in the ratings But she receives a whacking 12lb from the older fillies and mares.
Irish Oaks runner-up Cayenne Pepper won the Blandford over today’s course and distance in September, with Thundering Nights a well-beaten third.
She won it very well by almost six lengths so, on that performance alone, she can be upgraded a couple of pounds, and she was second to Magical in this Pretty Polly a year ago.
Thundering Nights earned an extra 5lb by running Broome to half a length in the Alleged over the Curragh CD in April, the middle race of Broome’s Spring hat-trick.
Epona Plays is three from four but was almost three lengths off Thundering Nights here in August so needs to have improved.
The Moyglare form (1 Shale, 2 Pretty Gorgeous) seems to have been left behind but Shale could bounce back on the better ground.
BETDAQ value 5.0 Cayenne Pepper
SOLOMON IS A WISE INVESTMENT
⭕ 3.35 Uttoxeter (Summer Cup) The little horse Lock’s Corner steps up in trip for this long-distance chase. There’s stamina on the dam’s side and he stayed on well, runner-up in a 3m Pertemps qualifier at Cheltenham in October but Jonjo O’Neill hasn’t had a winner for three weeks (0-16).
Though Landofsmiles is up 27lb for four wins out of five, he still carries a light weight in the sort of race Peter Bowen excels in. He’s striking at 40% right now.
But Talkischeap is locked in with him at the weights after their one-two in the Perth Gold Cup, and no reason why he should be 12.5 when Landofsmiles is 8.4 this morning.
Solomon Grey is 1112 at Uttoxeter and on the last day gave a stone to the winner on the course here (3m) with last year’s star of this Summer Cup, Minellacelebration, in third.
There’s a turn-around in the weights but strictly not enough to guarantee Minella’s revenge, and Dan Skelton won this in 2018.
Back On The Lash, whose toughness makes up for his lack of speed, emerges from the novice ranks after scoring here.
BETDAQ value 8.2 Solomon Grey
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.00 The Curragh (win 10)
BET 3pts win VELOCIDAD
3.35 Uttoxeter (win 20, nap)
BET 2.75pts win SOLOMON GREY
3.40 The Curragh (win 20)
BET 5pts win CAYENNE PEPPER
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
