THREE MORE WINNERS IN SIX-FROM-11 STRIKE: Daqman made it six winners from 11 races (54% strike rate) in three days with a treble yesterday across the cards at Carlisle, Salisbury and Naas: Caponata (WON 3-1), Trade Commissioner (WON 5-2) and Lexi’s Boy (WON 9-4).
63 POINTS PROFIT IN THREE DAYS: That brought his profit in the three days to 63 points – and his wins tally to 20 in nine days – following Duke Of Firenze (WON 100-30), Khione (WON 15-8) and Grey Seal (WON 7-4) on Monday and Tuesday.
RACING ON A PLATE: On the first day of the Northumberland Plate meeting, Daqman argues that the holiday season need not require a break from your betting. It’s all on a plate with the Betdaq betting site.
To see the words ‘Seaton Delaval’ gives me a sinking feeling. The great meetings of Guineas, Derby and Royal Ascot were over, and that was the time I went on holiday with the family, virtually cut off from racing.
Times have changed: even if I take a break, I can stay in touch with the BETDAQ market on my laptop-PC or Macbook. I don’t need cash or travellers’ cheques; I have a betting wallet updated every time I am logged in, indeed every time I stake a horse.
So I’m off to the Geordie shore today whether I sit at home behind my desktop, or dongle elsewhere with my laptop (ooer, Missus). My only worry, from home or holiday hotel, is this wretched weather.
It’s a pleasure to keep my wellies in the cupboard and avoid the ‘soft-heavy-in-places’ terrain of the Newcastle track but exactly what the ground is like is the bane of all bettors in this country.
I admit I don’t always read the papers, with their routine collation of hype on the one hand and gloom and doom on the other, but what exactly is ‘vertidrained.’
The punter’s understanding of the state of the ground is hardly ever considered. Apparently, the entire Newcastle course has been ‘vertidrained’ since the last meeting, according to the Racing Post. What on earth (pun intended) is that when it’s at home?
We have a going-stick reading there: 5.8 when the Post went to bed last night but, as I’ve argued before, all meetings should have their ‘pogo-stick’ figure on an official daily website, updated on the morning of racing, and after any going and weather changes.
3.00 Newcastle (Seaton Delaval): This is not the two-year-old Group-3 race of old but a class-2 handicap, run for the last six years, with no winner so far carrying more than 9st 5lb and none over the age of six.
You’d certainly expect to require young lungs and a light weight on today’s soft-heavy, which should hold no terrors for three five-year-olds, all winners in similar conditions – Memory Cloth, Prince Of Sorrento and Swiftly Done – and we might add Viva Ronaldo, aged six, for his last-time win on the soft.
Euro-soccer is getting easy isn’t it: you just back a nil-nil draw, and try to get offers that the best player on the field won’t even get a shot at a penalty (Ronaldo pained is not a pretty sight).
The snag with Ronaldo, the horse, is that he hasn’t been so ‘viva’ when stepped up from class 4 to class 2 (form figures in class-2 on turf since 2009: 400000000).
Swiftly Done also has to make the step up, 4lb higher than for his class-3 Doncaster success last time out, though he will like the ground and he did put back-to-back wins together last season.
Memory Cloth ran a cracker at Newmarket at today’s level in the Spring but, not for the first time, his form has petered out since. He was a good 7lb further behind Tullius at Windsor than at Newmarket, though Windsor was a Listed and he’s back to his best trip today.
Prince Of Sorrento and Suits Me look good for their runs behind subsequent Royal Ascot winners, ‘Sorrento’ having been runner-up to Fennell Bay at Sandown, giving him weight, and Suits Me fourth to Gatewood at the York May meeting.
3.40 Warwick (Eternal Stakes): I have to back Diala; I had fancy odds about her for the 1,000 Guineas but either she wasn’t ready or she’s not what they thought she was.
That last comment is still debatable: on the one hand they’ve dropped her to this Listed to get her some black type for the paddocks; at the same time, it’s clear that she was well supported in the Guineas.
The good news is that she has a low draw in 3; seven of the last nine winners of this race came from 1 and 2, hugging the rail round the Warwick hairpin.
Only Sunday Times and Radio Gaga have been supported against Diala this morning, but both were 100-1 in the same Guineas and both have high draws here (13 and 14).
There’s a similar situation isolating the favourite in the opener (2.10), with the market dangers to Indigo Iris drawn wide (I Stand Corrected in 13), absent for yonks (Malih) or unraced and needing further on breeding (Bypass).
Diala’s stable could win what seems a match at Leicester between their Al Wajba and the morning favourite, Ivor’s Princess (8.10), whose runs with give in the ground have both been flops, making Al Wajba’s 3.6 offers on BETDAQ look value.
Thanks to Betdaq, my staking plan today, taking each offer to win 20 points, leaves me just about ‘break even’, or only two or three points down on the day, if I get only one winner. But all have sound winning chances, so I hope for two.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 10pts win INDIGO IRIS (2.10 Warwick)
BET 4.4pts win PRINCE OF SORRENTO (3.00 Newcastle)
BET 5.5pts win (nap) DIALA (3.40 Warwick)
BET 7.6pts win AL WAJBA (8.10 Leicester)
* Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points so, if you divide 20 by his stake, you know the Betdaq offer taken at the time of writing.
* Points are what you make them: if you bet in tenners, then 4pts win is £40; 3.2pts win is £32 (in fivers, those stakes would be £20 and £16). Daqman bets to a level return so that you can easily assess his tipping ability.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
