IRELAND HANDS BATON TO IRELAND! Daqman landed two winners in the title battle of Sandown, won decisively by Willie Mullins. The scene now turns to the Flat and another likely Irish-trainer triumph as Aidan O’Brien’s City of Troy has his final gallop for next weekend’s Guineas, where both horse and trainer could go straight to the top of the earnings lists.
Daqman Saturday
WON 15-8 JONBON
WON 4-5 IMPAIRE ET PASSE
*Daqman 15, Pricewise 11, going into Longchamp today
NEXT WEEK: Countdown to the Guineas and the Punchestown Festival
MULLINS LANDS TREBLE CHANCE
BIG-RACE GLORY! Some £700,000 behind, Willie Mullins pulled off the hat-trick of Grand National, Scottish Grand National and Sandown Gold Cup to land the GB Jumps trainers’ title yesterday.
Impaire Et Passe and Minella Cocooner at Sandown took his earnings to £3,326,135, ahead of Dan Skelton (£2,981,419) and Paul Nicholls (£2,886,462).
There were late goals from Nicky Henderson, with Fantastic Lady and Jonbon, to confirm fourth place with £2,222,622.
O’BRIENS TAKING CENTRE STAGE
IRISH HIGHS. Replace the Mullins Magic headlines at the top of English and Irish racing and what do you get? You get the O’Brien Story continued.
But it’s not only about Aidan; it’s increasingly about Joseph O’Brien, with father and son finishing last year one-two in the Irish trainers’ table on 107 and 91, netting £10m between them.
In few exchanges this year so far, Joseph leads in Ireland with 22 winners, almost double Aidan’s 12.
There is no chance of another English-title finish like last year, when John Gosden (£7.2m) beat Aidan O’Brien (£6.5).
This is Aidan’s year for the trainers’ titles double in England and Ireland, Gosden lucky to get £2m in prizemoney. Andrew Balding will win numerically; he currently leads Michael Appleby 36-31.
⭕ 2.50 Longchamp (Prix Ganay) If you go down to the woods today – deep in the bois – it’s no surprise to see Joseph set for a Group-race double.
He starts with Al Riffa in the Ganay, a race he won in 2022 with State Of Rest on the way to the colt’s first Group 1 at Royal Ascot.
Al Riffa got nearest of all six runners-up to the invincible Ace Impact, closer even than Big Rock, when they were one-two at Deauville in August.
Joseph O’Brien was thrilled to get within threeparts of a length of Ace Impact, declaring 2024 would be the year for the National Stakes (Group-1) winner.
Ace Impact finished with a rating of 128, so Al Riffa’s 112 is ludicrous. It puts him 7lb or so behind the leader of this pack of Group-2 colts, Zarakem (119). I don’t believe it.
JOUR FILLIES’ DISH OF THE DAY
⭕ 3.25 Longchamp (Prix Allez France) This is the fillies and mares equivalent of the Ganay. Whether Joseph O’Brien’s American Sonja is the fillies and mares equivalent of Al Riffa is open to doubt.
She was a Listed winner here at Longchamp in June but then got seconditis at Group-3 level, mainly because she liked to lead.
My fancy is Pensee Du Jour, a fast starter with three in a row in the Spring of 2023 and can be forgiven for failing to cope in the second half of the season with such as Blue Rose Cen in the Diane and Warm Heart in the Vermeille; they finished the year on 118 and 117 respectively.
SILVESTRE TO SWOOP ON EAGLE
⭕ 3.10 Southwell Team Gosden can win this with a Derby long-shot Sardinian Warrior who takes the Dante route to Epsom.
Slowly away and green, he finished well at Kempton in December, and should be good enough against Modern Times and Approved Star, who have no smart entries. Check out the Betdaq Betting Exchange market.
⭕ 3.40 Southwell Prydwen puts his AW Marathon Championship on the line, raised 6lb to the steadier of 9st 12lb.
Alan King won the Novices’ Hurdle Championship at Sandown yesterday but Tritonic has yet to reach the frame on a man-made surface and this seems to be his prep for the Chester Cup.
With Pledgeofallegiance the likely pacesetter, Wonderful Eagle will be set up from a nice spot in the handicap under Silvestre De Sousa. He was a prolific winner in good company in Germany.
⭕ 4.30 Bath Saeed Bin Suroor suddenly reappears on a track which seems to suit; he has a near-40% strike rate at Bath.
Arctic Mountain has had a wind op since failing to catch Shadow Of War (Gosden) at Nottingham and then Al Anoud (Beckett), who subsequently turned over the odds-on Scenic at Salisbury.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.30 Wetherby (win 10)
BET 2pts win SHAWS PHOENIX
2.50 Longchamp (win 12, nap)
BET 4pts win AL RIFFA
3.10 Southwell (win 12)
BET 5pts win SARDINIAN WARRIOR
3.25 Longchamp (win 10)
BET 3pts win PENSEE DU JOUR
3.40 Southwell (win 12)
BET 3pts win WONDERFUL EAGLE
4.30 Bath (win 10)
BET 6pts win ARCTIC MOUNTAIN
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