PACE YOURSELF FOR AN AUTUMN FEAST: A weekend of wonder in France and Ireland set the bar even higher for the autumn festivals of the British Championships and the Arc meeting in Paris. As ever, the wonder was how Aidan O’Brien brought Auguste Rodin back off the ropes and paced the race of Irish Champions for an astonishing one-two.
TODAY: Daqman starts the week with bets from Brighton and Newcastle.
THE SIX WEEKEND BIG-HITTERS
SIX star players for the final weeks of the season stood out from the rest in a dramatic weekend of racing in the big arenas of the Curragh, Leopardstown and Longchamp.
🏇 AUGUSTE RODIN (3c, Aidan O’Brien) Dual Derby winner (English and Irish) yet he started 11-4 against for Saturday’s Irish Champion Stakes, with queries against him: he had flopped in the King George and he was dropping back a quarter-mile.
In the event he won half a length thanks to pace injections from last year’s winner, Luxembourg, and another stablemate, Point Lonsdale, which produced a race 2.72 secs faster than the average time.
It must have had time-test bloggers like Kevin Blake and Simon Rowland reprising the sectionals in awe and maybe the Everton board will offer Aidan O’Brien free toffees for life if he can save their Premier League place.
🏇 ELDAR ELDAROV (4c, Roger Varian) Last year’s Doncaster St Leger winner left his Cup form behind and returned to the big time over 1m 6f when ridden clear under David Egan in Sunday’s Irish St Leger.
🏇 FANTASTIC MOON (3c, Frau Sylvia Steinberg) In yesterday’s Prix Niel trial for the Arc, the German Derby winner cruised two-and-a-half lengths clear of the odds on Feed The Flame, who had been almost seven lengths behind Ace Impact in the French Derby.
🏇 IRESINE (6g, Jean Paul Gauvin) Iresine hadn’t been out since April when he tried yesterday to do a reprise of his Prix Foy trial win of last year, just failing to catch Place Du Carrousel, winner of the Opera at last year’s Arc meeting and in form from taking the Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville.
🏇 TAHIYRA (3f, Dermot Weld) What you see is what you get, and what you see is a brilliant professional, yet another right at the top in this age of champion fillies and mares.
Tahiyra, beaten only once in six starts, and that only half a length by Mawj in the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas, added to this year’s Irish 1,000 and Coronation Stakes by dismissing older rivals of her sex in the Matron Stakes on Saturday.
🏇 WARM HEART (3f, Aidan O’Brien) The Yorkshire Oaks winner had her Ribblesdale form boosted earlier yesterday afternoon when the runner-up at Royal Ascot won a Group 2 at the Curragh.
She was still only second favourite for the Vermeille behind odds-on Blue Rose Cen, the French 1,000 Guineas and Oaks winner, who finished fifth, either failing to stay or jaded from her long season; or both.
🗓️ Fortune Cookies: Tuesday
🗓️ Two-year-olds: Wednesday
LUCIDITY GETS CLEAR VOTE
⭕ 4.40 Brighton It might only be a class 5 but it’s also the best race of the afternoon at Brighton bringing together a group of runners lacking a recent win – it’s confined to horses who have yet to win in 2023 so something has to give!
Lucidity for Ed Dunlop and ridden by Oisin Murphy gets a reasonably confident vote given that she is one of the few that look to be still on the upgrade. Her placed efforts in June and July have come in races where the winners have run well subsequently and she would have gone closer here last time but for her rider dropping the whip two furlongs out.
After a much better effort at Epsom last time out when third Swing To The Stars heads up the Betdaq Betting Exchange market. She was given a lot to do at Epsom by Richard Kingscote who is replaced by Jim Crowley for the ride today and she looks a bigger threat to the selection than Kodiman who was beaten 12 lengths on his only previous run (from 8 starts) on the turf.
THE SECRET IS OUT
⭕ 5.15 Brighton Secret Handsheikh runs well here including winning over course and distance in April in a higher grade. This won’t take much winning and a repetition of his course and distance second to Pop Dancer last time out should prove good enough.
He very much fits the ‘winner without a penalty’ description too as he was repeatedly denied a clear run and was only beaten a neck at the line, The handicapper will almost certainly compound that misery for connections by shoving him up a few pounds so it’s no surprise to see trainer John Gallagher getting him out again quickly.
Imperiousity makes the market for us here after his Salisbury win (up 3lb) and is the obvious danger but may just bump into one who is better handicapped today.
MAGIC MOMENTS
⭕ 7.30 Newcastle the north-east card looks decidedly tricky tonight with three sprint handicaps closing the card.
In the first of these, a chance is given to Magic Gem on his first start for Bryan Smart and his first try over a sprint distance.
Both look positive moves and it’s surprising he hasn’t been tried previously over this kind o trip.
He certainly likes to get on with it leaving the stalls and it would come as no surprise to seem him bounced out by Callum Rodriguez in an attempt to make all.
DAQMAN’S BETS
4.40 Brighton (win 10)
BET 2.3pts win LUCIDITY
5.15 Brighton (win 10, nap)
BET 6.25 pts win SECRET HANDSHEIKH
7.30 Newcastle (win 10)
BET 2.3pts win MAGIC GEM
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