BULL’S-EYE BET AT ASCOT TODAY: Daqman aims a bolt into the Royal Ascot bull’s eye today, bidding for three winning days in a row after a big-race winner Sunday and his nap yesterday.
MONDAY: Profit on the day: 2.40
WON 13-8 METABOLT (nap)
SUNDAY: Profit on the day: 57.50
WON 16-5 BLUE ROSE CEN (FORTUNE COOKIE, French Oaks)
WON 13-2 POWER OF GOLD
DAQMAN LEADS PRICEWISE 29-14: Daqman went into Royal Ascot 28-20 in front of Pricewise last year. Right now he is 29-14 ahead for winners in the current Flat season. His big Ascot hits in recent years include:
Tomorrow: QUEEN’S VASE: Kemari WON 15-2, Dashing Willoughby WON 6-1. ROYAL HUNT CUP: Invisible Man WON 28-1, Real World WON 18-1, Settle For Bay WON 16-1, Julienas WON 12-1.
Thursday: GOLD CUP: Trip To Paris WON 12-1, Subjectivist WON 13-2.
FRANKIE! EARLY INSPIRATION
⚠️ HEADS UP: Ascot was hit by a deluge of rain during the early hours. The going is still said to be good, in fact on the firm side, but punters should watch race-times for clues to the conditions.
2.30 Royal Ascot (Queen Anne Stakes, 1m) STATS and facts: Daqman last Tuesday.
This was a buzz race in the last two seasons, with Baaeed and Palace Pier, both rated 125 and both winning odds-on gambles, making six favourites out of nine to have won.
Though the nearest, in terms of rating, is Modern Games (121), the filly Inspiral, winner of the Coronation Stakes at this meeting last year, is a 120, receiving 3lb sex allowance, so probably just ahead of the game!
Modern Games’ stable, the back-to-form Charlie Appleby outfit (5-11), has punters blinded by the blue, with Native Trail on 119 also in the field.
There’s no Irish attack and the next two in the betting are installed 10 (Mutasaabeq, beaten by Chindit here in July) and 12 (Chindit himself, beaten by Modern Games on the last day). Their draws will be hard to overcome.
So can the Godolphin colts steal Frankie Dettori’s thunder on Inspiral? Modern Games loves it firm but storms are forecast! BETDAQ 3.9 Inspiral
A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT..
3.05 Royal Ascot (Coventry Stakes, 6f) STATS and facts: Daqman last Tuesday.
Three winning favourites out of four followed in the last three seasons by outsiders at 8-1, 11-1 and 150-1. What chance have you got!
Trainers in form help: Aidan O’Brien (nine Coventry wins) with River Tiber out of stall 6, and George Boughey with Asadna from 17, have chosen just one each from a strong entry.
You need one either side in the draw and that’s just what they give you. But Dettori’s mount for Jessica Harrington, Givemethebeatboys (7), and Wesley Ward’s US raider, Fandom (15), are also on different sides.
Ward’s two-year-olds often go for broke and Fandom from the high numbers could take Ripon runaway Asadna with him.
Givemethebeatboys, an €11,000 yearling made the £1.1m top lot at the Goffs London Sale and changed owner but not trainer last night.
Is there a ‘hidden horse’, a 150-1 type, to send the favourites to Coventry? The answer could be Prince XJ, also on the high side out of 22; he improved for better ground when winning well the last day.
One of just six booked Ascot mounts for Colin Keane, layers couldn’t give it away this morning at 340.0.
BETDAQ value 1-2-3: River Tiber 2.94, Asadne 3.95
PRINCESS OF SPEED AND STAMINA
3.40 Royal Ascot (King’s Stand Stakes, 5f) STATS and facts: Daqman last Tuesday.
This doesn’t quite have the quality of recent years when winners were rated 120, 121, 126. Highfield Princess (119) is 8lb clear of Bradsell (112), with Marshman and Manaccan on 111.
The Coventry result (race 2 today) may be a guide to the draw. But look back and ask yourself where was the pace for that race and, look forward, where could it be for this one?
The Aussie three-year-old Coolangatta (2) was given a forward ride when taking the ‘Lightning’ at Flemington but was getting weight all round. The English second-season act, Dramatised, gets more help as a filly.
Dramatised (18) won the 2022 Queen Mary here from a prominent position. She beat Equilateral a length, receiving 11lb, in the Temple Stakes last month.
Equilateral (stall 6) often leads but was held up in this in 2020 and finished second, then was fifth last year.
Highfield Princess (10) went with the pace and led two out in the Buckingham Palace (7f) in 2021; she has that mix of speed and stamina.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.7 Highfield Princess, 8.6 Dramatised
CHALDEAN THE HOTTER COOKIE
4.20 Royal Ascot (St James Palace Stakes, 1m) The 2,000 Guineas is the best guide to this, as Coroebus showed last year, and Chaldean will be a favourite to do the same.
But how good is Paddington, also a Guineas winner in Ireland? FORTUNE COOKIES provides us with just one bet in several big races this week, except this one. As Chaldean tries to fend off Paddington, we hope for a narrow profit margin.
ZOFFEE HITTING FORM TODAY
5.00 Royal Ascot (Ascot Stakes, 2m 4f) STATS and facts: Daqman last Tuesday.
Calling The Wild has been placed twice in the Queen Alexandra and is one of 10 hurdlers to have won this Ascot Stakes in the last dozen years: Bring On The Night, Ahorsewithnoname, Calling The Wind, Zoffee, Pleasant Man, Fleurman, Tritonic, Urban Artist, Achnamara, Throne Hall, Prince Imperial and previous winner The Grand Visir.
Coltrane won this last year from Bring On The Night, who has not raced since but has twice won first time after a break.
Ahorsewithnoname won at Cheltenham in April, first time raised to around 2m 4f. Novel Legend and Fleurman need more rain.
Zoffee was fourth in the Cesarewitch in the autumn and second in the Chester Cup last month when he still hadn’t come in his coat. Bull’s-eye!
BETDAQ value 1-2-3: Bring On The Night 3.3, Zoffee 15.5 and Ahorsewithnoname 12.5.
BUCKAROO IS ONE FOR OISIN
5.35 Royal Ascot (Wolferton Stakes, 1m 2f) STATS and facts: Daqman last Tuesday.
It’s worth reprising every year in the last decade, which shows that stalls 5, 6, 7 won seven out of 10 and those who scored from a double-figure draw had drifted to the right.
LAYS LOGIC (FAVOURITE): Team Gosden has won it four times but with just the one winning favourite (2015), and Saga has scored only once, which was in his maiden, always a bad sign.
As the royal runner ridden by Frankie Dettori, Saga could be all the rage in the market; and a reasonable lay near the ‘off.’
Punters see this Ascot as a Dettori v Ryan Moore battle but Oisin Murphy, here on Buckaroo, will have his say.
He needs to ride better than when a close fourth in the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan last time when he was caught close home. That was on the soft but Buckaroo’s family loved fast ground.
BETDAQ value 6.5 Buckaroo
HIDDEN IN BETDAQ 70.0 OFFERS
6.10 Royal Ascot (Copper Horse Handicap, 1m 6f) You are likely to want to rename this ‘getting out stakes’ as a costly ‘getting in deeper’, unless Ryan Moore can whip in a favourite who has spent two years over hurdles and never won anything without cut in the ground.
LAYS LOGIC: Vauban (2.61 this morning) could indeed be a lay on a sound surface. You don’t have to decide before the race but there is a weather alternative in that Willie Mullins has another runner adjacent in the market, Absurde (15.5), who has an identical (101) rating and has won on ‘good’ on the Flat and over hurdles, and is ridden by Frankie Dettori.
Both are well drawn; both have had recent outings over the sticks. The alternatives?
Ruling Dynasty is given a high mark after novice success but it could be higher, according to the handicapping of past rivals. Point King (17.5) looks solid on his Listed and Group-3 form.
‘Hidden horse’ may be Scriptwriter, formerly with Aidan O’Brien. A lightly raced son of Churchill, who has stepped up to Grade 2 over hurdles. BETDAQ 70.0.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.30 Royal Ascot (win 30)
BET 10pts win INSPIRAL
3.05 Royal Ascot (win 20 each)
BET 10pts win RIVER TIBER
BET 6.75pts win ASADNE
3.40 Royal Ascot (win 20 each)
BET 7pts win HIGHFIELD PRINCESS
BET 2.75pts win DRAMATISED
4.20 Royal Ascot
FORTUNE COOKIES
CHALDEAN
PADDINGTON
5.00 Royal Ascot (win 50, win 20)
BULL’S-EYE BET 3.25pts win ZOFFEE
BET 8.5pts win BRING ON THE NIGHT
5.35 Royal Ascot (win 40 nap)
BET 7.25pts win BUCKAROO
6.10 Royal Ascot (win 30)
BET 2pts win ABSURDE
Ascot win-and-place to win 100
3.05 race 1pt w/p PRINCE XJ
6.10 race: 1.4pts w/p SCRIPTWRITER
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.
