BIG-RACE POWER: 18-1 AND 11-2: Daqman landed a win-50 bull’s-eye bet for the second Saturday running, after Quick Wave (WON 18-1) last week. Profit on the day yesterday: 31.65.
WON 11-2 OUR POWER (Kempton Trophy)
WON (w/p) 3rd 11-1 FOXES TAILS (Winter Derby, BETDAQ 17.0)
ANOTHER WINNER IN THE KITTY: Daqman’s one-two in his horse-by-horse preview of the Eider Chase finished first and third:
KITTYS LIGHT WON 7-4 and NO CRUISE YET 3rd 11-2 (BETDAQ 12.0)
DAQMAN 199 POINTS UP ON PRICEWISE: The two Saturday strikes were part of five winners for Daqman in the last four days of Pricewise tipping. It has sent him 17-12 in front of his Racing Post rival, 199 points ahead to level stakes. The winning prices: 18-1, 11-2, 4-1, 100-30, 2-1.
GLAMORGAN BOWLS THEM OUT
Welsh Wales landed a huge double yesterday. The boys from Glamorgan, Christian Williams and Sam Thomas, usually score alternative weekends.
But yesterday they doubled up in the Eider Chase (gambled-on Kittys Light for Williams) and Kempton Trophy (Our Power for Thomas).
Our Power’s convincing Kempton victory could be a National omen. He jumped well and, unphased by a furious pace, picked them off in the final stages.
The Bobbyjo at Fairyhouse, containing half a dozen from the top 40 or so in the Grand National weights, seemed disappointing.
Longhouse Poet departed at the first and Willie Mullins’ Carefully Selected still looked novicey, so it was left to the old man, stablemate Kemboy, to run them into the ground.
That probably leaves Capodanno and Franco De Port as the Mullins top two for Aintree.
But, if you take yesterday’s Bobbyjo run at face value, the fast-finishing Vanillier, beaten half a length, would have to come into the Grand National reckoning.
I shall be asking Gavin Cromwell if the eight-year-old is expected to jump the National fences and if he can be relied on, after an in-and-out career.
Meanwhile, the Champion Hurdle could be decided on the Kempton AW track on Tuesday!
It plays host to the Henderson kingpin, Constitution Hill, in his final racecourse appearance before the festival, with several others from Seven Barrows strutting their stuff.
BOODLES IS NEXT FOR NUSRET
That’s the Triumph gone. Maybe the Boodles, too! The Adonis trial was won yesterday by Irish-raider Nusret, who was 16-lengths third to Lossiemouth at Leopardstown and 18 off Blood Destiny at Fairyhouse!
Willing improver though he is, Nusret is not the material to become the seventh Adonis winner to take the Triumph Hurdle.
But, in a solid swoop to the line at Kempton yesterday, he dismissed any chance of the British taking the Triumph from the Irish.
And Nusret (the name means ‘victory’) moved up among the favourites for the old Fred Winter, now known as the Boodles Juvenile Hurdle.
Nusret is a colt and, as a son of Golden Horn out of a Daylami mare, you can see why they’ve kept both horse and record intact.
He was Joseph O’Brien’s fourth winner out of eight in British raids this season, keeping well off the pace, hating the dead ground, but going clear under a confident Daryl Jacob.
Nicky Henderson also ran a Golden Horn, the filly Pawapuri, who was not punished to finish fourth, first time on a racecourse.
IT’S ALL UP HILL FOR GOSHEN
⭕ 2.30 Fontwell (National Spirit Hurdle) If Goshen performs as he did in the Ascot Hurdle, when he beat Brewin’upastorm more than eight lengths, he will win this.
But ‘if’ is the operative word with Goshen. Three weeks earlier on the same course in a chase he sulked at the back or, to put it in trainer Gary Moore’s words, he was unsuited by the going. He needed it softer than the good to soft.
But the very next time he ran, in that Ascot Hurdle, he won on ‘good’, with the excuse this time that ‘midweek rainfall’ had suited him.
Fontwell is being watered, presumably with Goshen’s peccadilloes in mind, and he may win though he’s not a horse I’m ever able to back.
There’s another ground issue separating – or not – the November one-two in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton, Knappers Hill and Sceau Royal.
Knapper Hill received 6lb and the going was returned as ‘good to firm.’
So the pair should be neck and neck today at level weights.
I shall assume that the four-years-younger Paul Nicholls inmate can improve enough to beat the 11 years old, Sceau Royal.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.8 Knappers Hill
LAD COULD LAND A HAT-TRICK
⭕ 2.50 Hereford Joe Tizzard’s runners are missing strike badly: seven seconds in eight days, including two favourites, one of them going off at 1-5.
So I’ll not be trusting Le Ligerien, who has changed trainers more times than we’ve had prime ministers.
It’s three years since he put back-to-back wins together and that was on heavy ground.
Much more likely to enjoy this race is Jobesgreen Lad, who goes for a hat-trick but may not have finished improving, returned to his favourite track (2-2 at Hereford).
I spoke to a West Country pal this morning, bemoaning the fact that there are four races at Hereford with just four runners.
‘Ah, well you see,’ he laughed, ‘they’re match races really, but such poor quality that each runner needs a pony to go with him.’
BETDAQ value 2.62 Jobesgreen Lad
HEY! HE SHOULD BE FAVOURITE
⭕ 4.40 Naas Over to Ireland then and a race with more runners than those four at Hereford put together.
I’m testing the old adage ‘the bigger the field, the bigger the certainty’, with Hey Johnny not even favourite this morning but should be.
A comfortable winner at Thurles, he was short of room before the last in a Graded hurdle at Leopardstown or might have been closer than the six lengths he finished behind Gaelic Warrior.
Gaelic Warrior is around 9-2 for the Ballymore, only 8-1 or so for the Supreme. The third horse home at Leopardstown is a 140 animal who was fifth in the County Hurdle to State Man last March.
The fourth, Anna Bunina, was runner-up the last day in the Grade-3 Quevega Mares Hurdle at Leopardstown. Quality field or what!
BETDAQ value: 5.9 Hey Johnny
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.30 Fontwell (win 10)
BET 3pts win KNAPPERS HILL
2.50 Hereford (win 10)
BET 6pts win JOBESGREEN LAD
4.40 Naas (win 20, nap)
BET 4pts win HEY JOHNNY
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