DAQMAN NAPS ECLIPSE WINNER NATHANIEL: Daqman landed back-to-back naps at the two-day Sandown meeting, when he landed the Eclipse with Nathaniel (WON 7-2), following Friday’s best bet, Encke (WON 2-1).
It’s trick or treat with English racing these days. Just when I find a natty nap (in fact, just one more needed for the hat–trick), I’m having to look to Tony McCoy to keep me going. In the heart of the Flat season?
Here we go again, from the sublime – the last two weekend’s fabulous training feats of John Gosden – to the ridiculous dearth of middle-of-the-way racing. We drop like a stone to the nether regions of class 4, 5, 6 and beyond, to the betting abyss of sellers and claimers.
The BHA, through lack of funds, or by insidious planning, or both, have created a super league of British racetracks.
It gives the super track what it wants; that gives the breeder what he wants; and keeps our racing prestige high on the world scene, despite comparatively low prizemoney even for top-class contests.
As Black Caviar’s trainer said, a horse can win 20 races in a row in another country, but still has to come to Royal Ascot to prove itself the real thing.
What is missing from The Plan That Never Was is the punter’s need. What the punter wants is proved time and again in every bookmaker’s annual analysis. He bets more on quality racing and – more fool him – he wants big handicaps.
I say ‘more fool him’ because they are the hardest races to win: perhaps, perversely, that’s why he enjoys them but, more likely, because they more often produce bigger-priced winners.
We need a new approach to handicaps: the last vestiges of the old Jockey Club attitude – that the pattern, and only the pattern, matters – must give way to bigger better sport outside the traditional.
Because of the current abrupt precipice from good meetings to mediocre, racing’s bid to attract new customers is rather like staging a Test Match for a couple of days a week and then expecting people to stay with it by attending a series of village cricket games.
The few big handicaps that remain are so tight, because so few horses from vast entries get in, that often only around half a stone separates top weight and bottom weight.
This is clear indication that more handicaps are needed; it’s not just the lower-grade horse that misses the cut. I would have a a mid-week handicap series, with special entry and bonuses to major finals at the bigger meetings.
King of the local hit-and-run technique is Tony McCoy: he will go to the bogs of Bangor and the frosts of Ffos Las to build up an unassailable jockeys’-table lead.
The next week or so could see him hit the 50 mark already (he needs five) for the 2012-13 season and it’s only the beginning of July. His 24% strike rate is remarkable.
Stravita (1.45) has never been out of the frame in 10 starts and the stone and more he gets from Changing The Guard will be a bag of coal off his back in these deteriorating conditions, with 19 withdrawals already from the meeting this morning, as I write at 9.30 a.m.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 8pts win (nap) STRAVITA (1.45 Market Rasen)
BET 8pts win DIPITY DOO DAH (3.15 Market Rasen)
BET 1.7pts win and place STAR SURPRISE (3.30 Ayr)
* Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points (unless otherwise stated) so, if you divide 20 by his stake, you know the Betdaq offer taken at the time of writing. The bets are geared to a level return so that you can easily assess profits and loss.
* Points are what you make them: if you bet in tenners, then 4pts win is £40; 3.2pts win is £32.
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