40-1 BIG-RACE DOUBLE FOR DAQMAN: Magical Daqman pulled winners out of the hat again yesterday, with a big-race double of more than 40-1: Masterstroke (WON 17-2) in the Grand Prix de Deauville and Producer (WON 7-2 from an ‘overpriced’ 7.8 on BETDAQ) in the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood.
110 POINTS PROFIT IN THREE DAYS: He declared for a treble as well as Daq Multiples doubles and wasn’t far away as Fire Lily (2nd 9-4) stayed on just too late in the Flying Five at The Curragh, but the winners took his profit to just over 110 points in the last three days.
11-1 AND 12-1 JACKPOT BETS UP AT YORK: They followed Saturday’s Ebor success with Willing Foe (WON 12-1 from 16.0 on BETDAQ), and another York jackpot hit with Kirthill (WON 11-1) on Friday, when he also named Ortensia (Nunthorpe Stakes, WON 7-2).
EPSOM: David Dunsdon is way ahead of the league of gentlemen who line up for the annual amateurs’ Derby (4.15) and is 100% this year with two wins from two rides.
His mount, The Bells O Peover, has nosedived exactly a stone down the turf ratings since May but he led most of the way over 2m at York in July and ran well at Haydock over 1m 6f.
He’s three times a winner over 1m 4f on good-to-firm ground – two of them at this time of year, one at this level – and, just as long as it doesn’t rain buckets, this could be the day ‘Bells’ takes toll of the opposition, back to his trip in the right conditions (as I write).
I am expecting a classic Epsom dash at 3.05 between two animals that keep following each other around, both 6.2 on BETDAQ, at the time of writing. Lady Gibraltar and Fair Value both clocked faster-than-average times over CD at the July meeting.
Then the local filly, Fair Value, went on to run a close sixth of 28 in the Stewards’ Sprint at Goodwood while the day before, at the same meeting again, Lady Gibraltar dead-heated for her third win from four starts under hot claimer Michael Murphy.
RIPON: Ripon is a bit of a rip-off today: the famous Ripon Rowels, 16 to 18 runners for the last four years, is down to eight; maybe it’s too soon after York.
Let’s hope it is better placed in the programme next year but the Listed Ripon Champion Two-Year-Olds Trophy (4.10) has had its day and should be quietly disposed of.
The last four winners have since run 39 races for 39 defeats and no wins (as in zero successs.. zilch, nowt!). One is tempted to ask ‘what champions are these?’ And today only five line up.
Three are sneak southern raiders; four of the five are from outside Yorkshire. They’ve won just five of 22 turf races between them, the best of them a class-3 maiden at York (Pay Freeze).
If there’s any Ripon ‘champion’ it’s the only Yorkshire horse, Melody of Love, who beat Harry Redknapp’s Mill Reef entry Moviesta over today’s CD but perhaps more significantly ran a good fifth of 14 there earlier to Rosdhu Queen, who won last week’s Lowther Stakes.
However, there’s always two ways of looking at things, and it has to be said that Rosdhu Queen is in the same stable as today’s rival, Botanic Garden.
Deauville Prince was thought worth a trip to France, and Lyric Ace is from Richard Hannon’s juvenile-winners factory and was fourth in the Molecomb, just behind York’s sales-race hero, Hototo.
Lyric Ace alone makes this race Listed class but they’re all looking pretty much exposed except the Yorkshire filly, who is in receipt of 5lb from them all. Go on, Love!
Back to the Ripon Rowels (3.35), in which Osteopathic Remedy goes for his third win in five years, and Don’t Call Me tries to prove that his Royal Hunt Cup third was no fluke.
Compton seems to perform well only when fresh (as when fourth in the Britannia at Royal Ascot), and Mirrored may now be handicapped out of it.
My fancy is Take It To The Max (10.5 on BETDAQ), four times a winner last year and overdue this term: Richard Fahey has won this twice before with horses similarly out of form before the race.
NEWCASTLE: The classiest contest at Newcastle is the Blaydon Race (3.25), a two-year-old test with a better turn-out numerically than the Ripon ‘championship’ but also not up to par by form standards.
It could be a guide to the Ripon race in that Ann Duffield, who trains Melody Of Love, saddles Yorkshire Icon in the Blaydon Race.
Only Secret Destination and Jubilee Games have so far attempted this class-2 level, and they finished 12th and 18th respectively.
But two-year-olds can run over a mile now, and every one of these runners is stepped up in trip, with Excellent Mariner appealing as one of two first-time-in-a-handicap rides for Silvestre De Sousa.
He’s also on Waveguide (4.00), unexposed but progressive in her maidens and against a bunch of moderate older fillies and mares.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 3.8pts win on each FAIR VALUE and LADY GIBRALTAR (3.05 Epsom)
BET 5.8pts win EXCELLENT MARINER (3.25 Newcastle)
BET 2pts win and place TAKE IT TO THE MAX (3.35 Ripon)
BET 4.4pts win WAVEGUIDE (4.00 Newcastle)
BET 4pts win MELODY OF LOVE and 1.4pts win (stakes saver) LYRIC ACE (4.10 Ripon)
BET 3.5pts win (nap) THE BELLS O PEOVER (4.15 Epsom)
BANK HOLIDAY DAQ MULTIPLES: 5 x 1pt win doubles and 2 x 1pt win trebles Take It To The Max (3.35 Ripon) and The Bells O Peover (4.15 Epsom) with Codrington College and Festive Cheer (6.15 Dundalk)
* Daqman’s single selections are backed to win 20 points (except savers and Daq Multiples) so, if you divide 20 by his stake, you know the Betdaq offer taken at the time of writing.
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