DAQMAN’S 50% STRIKE RATE: Daqman has scored three winners from six bets to open the week. All tips were placed, including a 10-1 third yesterday.
Tuesday results 213
WON 5-4 ROCKOLA
Monday results 311
WON 11-4 FAERIE CUTLASS
WON evens KABRAL DU MATHAN (nap)
BIG-RACE SHOCK: Daqman concludes his three-day check on the trainers’ table. Who’s won what; what are the plans? TODAY: Mullins Gives Up!
MULLINS GIVES UP KING TITLE
⭕ 2.30 Kempton, December 26 (King George VI Chase): Willie Mullins has given a big bone for Boxing Day battle in the trainers’ title race which could reverberate in the run-up to Cheltenham and through the festival itself.
Willie has dropped his entire entry from the King George V1 Chase which potentially hands the £142k pot to one among those main rivals barking at his heels: Dan Skelton, Paul Nicholls, Gordon Elliott and Venetia Williiams, who were second, third, fifth and sixth in the 2023-24 table.
Mullins scratched all eight entries at yesterday’s acceptance stage including ante-post favourite, Gaelic Warrior, plus Gold Cup winner, Galopin des Champs and three-time Grade-1 winner last season, Il Etait Temps.
It follows the defeat of Galopin Des Champs by Fact Or File and the flop by Capoddano in weekend chasing features at Punchestown.
Fact or File is also trained by Mullins but is not in the King George and is expected to run at Leopardstown, though could be supplemented for Kempton by December 18.
But Willie has never been a great fan of the King George and very few runners have produced just two winners 20 years apart with Florida Pearl in 2001 and Tornado Flyer in 2021.
More likely to be supplemented is Martin Brassil’s Fastorslow, who has beaten Galopin des Champs three times. He likes good ground and connections will be hoping for an early estimate of the Boxing Day going.
Another possibility for late entry is Pic D’Orhy (161 rated for Paul Nicholls), recent winner at Ascot who beat L’Homme Presse (167 for Venetia Williams) in the Ascot Chase in February before that one finished fourth in the Gold Cup.
Envoi Allen (163) and Hewick (165), half a length apart in the Champion Chase at Down Royal in early November, head the market with Corbetts Cross (166), winner of the Grade 2 novice NH Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
THIS IS A GIFT FOR LAKE..
⭕ 1.50 Market Rasen: In the absence of five-time winner Skyjack Hijack, this looks a match between Harbour Lake and Supreme Gift with their identical ratings, so level weights.
Receiving 8lb, Harbour Lake finished three parts of a length in front of Supreme Gift when they were second and third to Zain Nights at Cheltenham in April.
Supreme Gift doesn’t quite get 3m and was a lot further behind Zain Nights, back at Cheltenham last month for another of these Pertemps qualifiers.
Ascot is his winningmost track and he could do better at the weights today, returning to a right-handed course, but I prefer Harbour Lake.
In his favour is that he’s won around the tricky undulations of Market Rasen and he’s already convinced Alan King this month that he should be trained for the Pertemps Final.
That was when he won his qualifier at Aintree, foiling a hat-trick bid by Guard The Moon over 3m. Harbour Lake looks a nap bet at 3.0 on Betdaq Betting Exchange this morning.
FANTASTIC BETDAQ OFFERS
⭕ 2.25 Market Rasen: Fantastic Lady won this race in 2022, first run back, and was third in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown behind Hewick the following Spring.
So the same race at Sandown in April was probably her best: she won the Oaksey from Ga Law and Hitman, who both rated 10lb and more above the opposition here today.
Apple Away has had the same or similar rating over fences since this time last year. Some 8lb inferior to Fantastic Lady, Apple Away receives just 2lb under the terms of this Listed race.
I’m going against early market forces here, which are against Fantastic Lady (out to 4.4 on BETDAQ) and very much for Apple Away (2.62) but, as you can see, there’s scope for a saver.
VEERING TOWARDS 5.2 BET
⭕ 3.00 Market Rasen: Kim Bailey has been in great form and filled our wallet with Faerie Cutlass yesterday.
His big recent prizewinners, Chianti Classico and Trelawne, were scoring first time, with records after a break of 1111 (Trelawne) and 1P111 (Chianti Classico). I think we can safely say he doesn’t train his horses on the track!
Percy Veering in this handicap chase scored first run back at this time last November, the start of a hat-trick.
That took him 19lb up the handicap but he’s still only seven and still way down in class 5. BETDAQ 5.2.
The morning favourite, Pats Dream, broke his duck over fences at this level recently but is now asked to step up in trip on different ground.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.50 Market Rasen (win 20, nap)
BET 10pts win HARBOUR LAKE
2.25 Market Rasen (win 17)
BET 5pts win FANTASTIC LADY
3.00 Market Rasen (win 20)
BET 5pts win PERCY VEERING
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