DAQMAN LANDS A GUINEAS TREBLE: Drumroll, please! Daqman completed the Irish Guineas double, with his Fortune Cookie Tahiyra in the 1,000 yesterday after, one bet one winner, Paddington at 3-1 in Saturday’s 2,000. It was his third Guineas of the month, following victory for another Fortune Cookie, Chaldean (WON 7-2), in the Newmarket 2,000. Drumroll was yesterday’s winning nap.
Sunday
WON 4-5 DRUMROLL (nap)
WON 2-5 TAHIYRA (Irish 1,000 Guineas, Fortune Cookie)
Saturday
WON 3-1 PADDINGTON (Irish 2,000 Guineas)
WON 1-1 LITTLE BIG BEAR (Fortune Cookie)
WON 6-4 COVEY (doubled with Little Big Bear)
DERBY WEEK: 25-12 UP ON PRICEWISE: Daqman’s double of nap and Guineas winner, both at the Curragh yesterday, gave him a 3-1 weekend win over Pricewise, taking his lead to 25-12 for Derby week.
TODAY : DERBY COUNTDOWN on stable form. Look out for ABC guides to the Derby and the Oaks.
MILE COULD MAKE A MILLION
DERBY COUNTDOWN: Charlie Johnson, who trained four winners on Saturday at Chester and Goodwood, sends his horses to six more venues for the Bank Holiday weekend.
He has runners at Beverley, Hamilton, Lingfield, and Redcar after the Berlin Hoppegarten for the German Oaks Trial yesterday,
But his principal targets are two Classics: Cologne this afternoon for the German 2,000 Guineas (Benacre and Finn’s Charm) and then back to Epsom for the Derby.
Charlie, who took over from his dad, Mark Johnston, this year, has won £830,000 from 51 winners in England already and today’s dual bid for the German Classic could take him within an ace of the million.
While the Derby gamble has been on Arrest, Charlie has Dubai Mile, the colt who beat that one in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud in the autumn, but at double the price for Epsom.
ARREST John and Thady Gosden have won enough trials to feel confidence in their quality horses, bursting onto the Oaks scene with Soul Sister in the Musidora, winning the Chester Vase Derby trial, readily, with Arrest and followed up with Gregory in the Cocked Hat at Goodwood.
They have a measure of the opposition via Epictetus: second to Auguste Rodin in the Doncaster Futurity in October, winner of the Blue Riband Trial on the Derby course at Epsom and fifth in the Dante.
AUGUSTE RODIN Aidan O’Brien made a slow start but is currently on a 35% strike rate (13-37), just celebrated his first Classic of the season with Paddington (Irish 2,000 Guineas).
Auguste Rodin was 12th of 14 in the Newmarket 2,000 but the same stable’s Little Big Bear, who was last that day, stormed to victory in Saturday’s Sandy Lane sprint at Haydock after a three-week break.
DUBAI MILE, who kept on well, fifth, in the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas behind Chaldean, had also run another Epsom contender, The Foxes, to half a length in the Royal Lodge, and is still officially a pound higher than that one.
MILITARY ORDER Charlie Appleby’s strike rate has slowed to 3-30 (just 10%) and he’s not been the Classic force of recent seasons; it was another Godolphin trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, who won the 1,000 Guineas with Mawj.
THE FOXES After a cracking start to the season, Andrew Balding’s strike rate has also slowed (5-49 right now) but he has won the 2,000 Guineas (Chaldean), the Dante Stakes (The Foxes) and the Sagaro (Coltrane).
EREVANN READIED BY ROUGET
⭕ 3.25 Longchamp (Prix d’Ispahan) A race won by superstars, including Goldikova (2011-12) and Persian King (2020 for Ballymore owners but trained Andre Fabre).
Persian King was one of the Daqman Fortune Cookies and he won three more Group races for us but he was always in the shadow of Sotsass, who beat him two lengths in the French Derby and two lengths again in the Arc.
The big horse Buckaroo had not been seen since injured in last year’s Irish 2,000 Guineas when he came back on heavy ground at Leopardstown in April to beat the 1,000 Guineas winner at the Curragh, Homeless Songs.
Buckaroo was leading at today’s trip when outgunned a short-head by Piz Badile – subsequent Irish Derby second – when they met in the Ballysax (1m 2f), so this race looks a good move.
His problem is the Daniel Wildenstein winner, 117-rated Erevann (Buckaroo is officially on 112), a pound behind Anmaat but a year younger, and to be saddled by Jean-Claude Rouget, who is coincidentally on 117 winners this year.
Erevann was a neck off Light Infantry in the Jacques Le Marois (1m) at Deauville in August, won by the Frankel filly, Inspiral. Onesto split Luxembourg and Vadeni in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Anmaat has never been out of the first three in 11 starts; he beat Junko in the Prix Dollar at the Arc meeting but the subsequent 5lb penalty contributed to his solid defeat by Epsom Derby winner Adayar in the Group-3 Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket in April.
SEE THE LIGHT WITH NIGHT
⭕ 3.10 Windsor The ground has been against Night Of Earth in his recent races but a return to good to firm should lock in win number nine for the Ian Williams trained sprinter.
The fact his recent runs have been below par on softer ground means he heads here 5lb lower than when winning a very similar class 3, four runner event at Nottingham and he was also a course and distance winner here in his two-year-old days.
He is preferred to Novello (narrow winner at Thirsk last time out but this is a tougher grade and he has an extra 4lb), Whenthedealinsdone (finished second to the selection in the Nottingham race mentioned above) and King Of Bavaria (back after finishing lame last time out and the Mick Appleby yard have unusually gone a bit quiet.
BEAR WITH ME
⭕ 5.10 Redcar Bearwith is a versatile performer with two wins apiece on the turf and all-weather. One of those turf wins came here last July.
I can’t really understand the discrepancy between his turf rating (60) and all-weather (71) and there’s every chance he’s leniently treated back on grass.
Certainly he arrives here in good form having won by three lengths at Newcastle earlier this month and might take some stopping in a lower grade of race today.
GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
⭕ 5.55 Leicester There are potentially a couple of dark horses here on the Betdaq Betting Exchange in the form of Gallimimus and Pure Bubbles. Both have lengthy absences to overcome but remain interesting at this level especially Gallimimus who is making his handicap debut.
However the percentage call might be Angel Of Peace who brings solid enough recent form into the race with her Redcar third and she should be even better now upped in trip. She’s lightly raced and capable of finding further improvement.
DAQMAN’S BETS
3.10 Windsor (win 10)
BET 4pts win NIGHT OF EARTH
3.25 Longchamp (win 10)
BET 3pts win EREVANN
5.10 Redcar (win 10, nap)
BET 6.75pts win BEARWITH
5.55 Leicester (win 10)
BET 1.9pts win ANGEL OF PEACE
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.
Did you know? DAQMAN’s tips are posted each and every day so he’s always on hand to help with your horse racing betting.