KEMPTON RATES SUPERNAP AND BULL’S-EYE BET: The Warwick Classic, the Dan Moore Memorial at Fairyhouse and the card at Wetherby are all lost to the weather today but Kempton’s Lanzarote meeting is on, prompting Daqman to dig out a big outsider bull’s-eye bet but also go supernap in the featured chase.
BERLAIS READY FOR BIG TIME
⭕ 2.40 Kempton (Silviniaco Conti Chase) This 2m 4f+ chase is named after Paul Nicholls’ seven-times Grade-1 winner of 20 years ago.
Nicholls makes young horses earn their place in the Ditcheat hierarchy. It didn’t quite work with the four-year-old Pourquoi Pas Papa yesterday.
But Kalif Du Berlais is half the age of his closest rival here, the 12-year-old Edwardstone, who has won one race in the last three years and has dropped a stone in the ratings over his last 10 chases.
Alan King was surprised how well the old boy ran in the Peterborough Chase last month, expecting to announce his retirement after an honourable couple of laps around Huntingdon.
But he ran second to the Charlie Hall winner Djelo, with Boombawn more than 20 lengths fourth.
Djelo (fifth), who didn’t get the trip, and Master Chewey (tailed off) were then out of their depth in the King George.
Like Silviniaco Conti, Kalif Du Berlais won his first Graded chase at the age of five but has so far been kept mainly to 2m, though the trainer doesn’t see the extra distance as an issue.
31.0 TILT AT THE OLD ENNEMI
⭕ 3.17 Kempton (Lanzarote Hurdle) LAYS LOGIC: Shock after shock in this, with winners in the last six years at SPs of 10-1, 12-1, 16-1, 33-1 and 66-1.
Dan Skelton is on a hat-trick of outsiders but finds himself with the likely favourite, A Pai De Nom, bidding for his own hat-trick, in fact going for four out of five in a hurdles career which started only in September.
The trainer insists there are ‘no negatives’ but the placed horses in A Pai De Nom’s Cheltenham victory have done nothing for the form.
French Ship is three from four, the last two at Cheltenham and Newbury, but that’s hiked him 18lb to 12st top-weight today.
There’s punishment, too, for Lanesborough, this time with a stunning stone hit for a single success at Doncaster in last month but with the form franked by the runner-up, and with the two Bens, Pauling and Jones, a red-hot duo.
So where is that elusive outsider? It might be Just Ennemi, who made £320,000 at David Maxwell’s dispersal sale. Skilful jumper at Auteuil, where the hurdles are like fences. Pedigree stamina packed.
Jeremy Scott has both Came From Nowhere and King Of The Lake in recent winning form. Came From Nowhere is the one they backed this morning.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 5.8 A Pai De Nom, 6.2 Lanesborough, 13 Came From Nowhere, 27 Just Ennemi
LINGFIELD PICK BALDOMERO
⭕ 1.47 Lingfield Kirsten Rausing’s Newmarket stud plotted a New Year change of fortune for low-level fillies, All Moonshine (won at Southwell a fortnight ago) and – with cheekpieces added – the unexposed Alta Rica in this. BETDAQ 12.0
⭕ 3.00 Lingfield Accrual, who made all here on Wednesday, is claimed off to try to negate the penalty, with Twilight Jet likely to join in the early pace.
But that’s likely to set up another strike for Baldomero, who took off here a furlong out on New Year’s Eve and left Twilight Jet trailing.
The Thames Boatman was runner-up in this race last year and, also runner-up here the last twice, could finish better after wind surgery.
⭕ 5.20 Newcastle Andrew Balding has returned to form with 3-7 in his most recent three days’ racing, the last one here yesterday under Jason Watson.
The combo came close to upsetting a 9-1 ON Team Gosden favourite at Lingfield in December, when Ted Le Saux just failed to give 5lb to the winner.
Jason will be Inspired to topple the Karl Burke maiden winner of that name which gives him 7lb today.
DAQMAN’S BETS
on Betdaq Betting Exchange
1.47 Lingfield (win 25 total)
BET 2pts win and place ALTA RICA
★★ 2.40 Kempton (supernap)
BET 20pts win KALIF DU BERLAIS
3.00 Lingfield (win 20)
BET 5pts win BALDOMERO
3.17 Kempton (win-50 bulls’s-eye bets)
BET 10pts win LANESBOROUGH
BET 4pts win CAME FROM NOWHERE
BET 2pts win and place JUST ENNEMI
5.20 Newcastle (win 12)
BET 8pts win TED LE SAUX
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