TWO WINNERS ON DAY ONE: Two Daqman winners were welcome relief on the first day of Cheltenham, among three consecutive seconds (2nd 5-1, 2nd 3-1, 2nd 11-8) and two others placed at 3rd 3-1 and 4th 16-1. Ouch!
WON 3-1 MADARA
WON 15-8 OLD PARK STAR
HOT SPOTS TRY TO HIT SIX: Six of the Daqman Hot Spots picked to target Cheltenham are running on this second day of the festival, offered on BETDAQ from around 4.0 to 100-1.
DRAMA AS ENGLAND LEAD
ENGLAND 4, Ireland 3. Doubles for Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins – with Lossiemouth’s Champion Hurdle the star turn – were features of the first day at Cheltenham, when three of the seven favourites won.
⭕ 1.20 Cheltenham (Turners Novices’ Hurdle) Most of the Hot Spots picked to target Cheltenham are running on this second day of the festival, two of them in this race, No Drama This End and Sober.
No Drama This End won a Grade 2 at Cheltenham after running in the 2025 festival bumper and hasn’t been beaten since, taking the key Challow Hurdle in December won the previous year by yesterday’s Champion Hurdle third, The New Lion.
The Irish have won 10 Turners out of 12, including Willie Mullins with a hat-trick completed last year; and Sober is all class: Kergorlay winner for Andre Fabre on the Flat in France and took the Queen Alexandra at Royal Ascot last June for Mullins.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.75 No Drama This End, 8.6 Sober
WHERE ART THOU, ROMEO..
⭕ 2.00 Cheltenham (Brown Advisory Novices Chase) Gordon Elliott has the lead in the Irish trainers’ table: 164-161 over Willie Mullins and nearly €400,000 ahead on prizemoney won.
I’m backing him to beat six Mullins contenders in this with another Hot Spot, Romeo Coolio, who is superbly bred to step up to this 3m 1f as a Kayf Tara out of a Kapgarde mare.
It sounds like a trait all your bets should have but Romeo Coolio loves racing a bit too much and is hooded today to stop him spending his energy too soon as he goes for four Grade-1 strikes in a row.
Kaud d’Authie had Final Demand 12 lengths behind at the Dublin Racing Festival but Paul Townend stays faithful.. and that’s Final, though he eased from even-money favourite for this following that Leopardstown race.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 4.4 Romeo Coolio, 5.9 Final Demand
NICO HAS A PREMIER PICK
⭕ 2.40 Cheltenham (Premier Handicap Cup) LAYS LOGIC: 21 of the last 22 favourites have been beaten!
Kabral Du Mathan will be boosted for tomorrow’s Stayers Hurdle if his New Year’s Day runner-up in the Relkeel, Jingko Blue, can win this.
Third was Blue’s Nicky Henderson stablemate, Lucky Place.
Yet both are overlooked here today by Nico De Boinville, who rides a third Henderson horse, Iberico Lord, the Greatwood winner of 2023 who returned to form in the Lanzarote in January, relishing the step up in trip.
His owner, J P McManus, who had a 200-1 plus double up yesterday, also has 2025 Fred Winter winner Puturhandstogether (Joseph O’Brien) and Kopeck De Mee, favourite who flopped in the Martin Pipe a year ago.
Another up in trip is one-time Royal Bond winner, Farren Glory, after seven consecutive places containing just one win: on good ground!
Betdaq Betting Exchange 12.5 Iberico Lord, 13 Puturhandstogether, 30 Farren Glory (four places 6.2)
FAMOUS THOUGH HE’S 100-1
⭕ 3.20 Cheltenham (Cross-Country) This test has produced winner (twice), second and third in the Grand National, and has a runner here – a Hot Spot – which was sixth in the 2025 Ultima and has the ground today.
This column would have won big time on Famous Bridge when he went right away to win the Grand National Trial at Haydock last February but had it taken away on a technicality.
He was available for this cross-country at up to 174.00 this morning to small returns and 17.5 a place. I’ll leave you some!
Stumpton won this race easily a year ago. Five of the last nine favourites have won and Delta Work and Tiger Roll have both done the double in the race in the last seven seasons.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 5.5 Stumptown, 100 plus Famous Bridge
ANOTHER MAJOR UPSET..
🏆 4.00 Cheltenham (Champion Chase) LAYS LOGIC: Eight odds-on favourites have been beaten in 10 years, and Hot Spots have two lined up to beat this year’s, Majborough (pictured below).
Il Etait Temps is from the same Willie Mullins stable, with number-one rider, Paul Townend, in the saddle. L’Eau Du Sud is a Skelton ace.
The 2024 Arkle third, Il Etait Temps has won the Clonmel and the Manifesto over another half mile and more but dropped back to the minimum of the Tingle Creek in December and slammed Jonbon five lengths.
The third, L’Eau Du Sud, didn’t run his race that day but had beaten Jonbon three weeks earlier in the Shloer.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 4.7 Il Etait Temps, 7.9 L’Eau Du Sud.
THIS IS IN HENRY’S POCKET
⭕ 4.40 Cheltenham (Grand Annual Challenge Cup) Favourites bite the dust in a race where huge prices score, with hits for handicappers that have run together several times or have collateral form.
Jasko Des Dames was only six when fifth in last year’s Grand Annual behind Jazzy Matty and ran well again here in the autumn, runner-up to Calico and now 11lb better off.
Henry De Bromhead also has Inthepocket, one-time Supreme Novices fourth, with Mark Walsh booked after they teamed up at Leopardstown last month and are today 9lb better with Addragoole.
Release The Beast was second, beaten favourite, behind Addragoole on Boxing Day on today’s terms.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 11 Inthepocket, 29 Jasko Des Dames.
DAQMAN’S BETS
on Betdaq Betting Exchange
★ 1.20 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 7pts win SOBER (nap)
BET 7pts to win 20 NO DRAMA THIS END
2.00 Cheltenham (win 30, win 20)
BET 6pts win FINAL DEMAND
BET 6pts win ROMEO COOLIO
2.40 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 4.25pts win IBERICO LORD
BET 4.25pts win PUTURHANDSTOGETHER
BET 1.75pts win, 1pt place FARREN GLORY
3.20 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 11pts win STUMPTOWN
BET 1pt to win 100 and place FAMOUS BRIDGE
4.00 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 5.5pts win IL ETAIT TEMPS
BET 3pts win L’EAU DU SUD
4.40 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 5pts win INTHEPOCKET
BET 1.75pts win JASKO DES DAMES
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