GUINEAS PATH TO MILLIONS: As Dan Skelton cracks £5m in jumping prizemoney for the 2025-6 season, Andrew Balding approaches a million already on the Flat for 2026, with the big players lining up for Guineas week. Daqman has the numbers for the takeover today and he’s your man for top previews on the first Classics.
SKELTON QUEST SUCCESSFUL
THE 2025-6 jumps season closed with a Sandown double for Dan Skelton yesterday, his £5m prizemoney target clinched by Doyen Quest.
🏆 Champion NH trainer Dan Skelton 194 winners, £5m prizemoney.
🏆 Champion NH jockey Sean Bowen 241 Conditional Tristan Durrell 48
Charlie Appleby (33% strike rate and John Gosden (29% and a treble yesterday) are 2026 Flat leaders on winners-to-runners percentages, but Andrew Balding is joint leader on winners and well clear on total earnings of £887k already.
Leading Flat trainer Andrew Balding, Tony Carroll 52 each (includes AW)
Leading Flat jockey Billy Loughnane 61, Luke Morris 47 (includes AW)
THAT’S A FIRE WARNING..
⭕ 4.55 Nottingham (Nottinghamshire Oaks) Top trainers of fillies and mares, Andrew Balding and Ralph Beckett, clash here with See The Fire and the year younger That’s Amore.
See The Fire, who has needed a run the last two seasons, has form-figures of 114 at York and the May meeting there surely beckons.
That’s Amore (Betdaq Betting Exchange 13.0 this morning) ran in the Cheshire Oaks of 2025 – fourth to subsequent Epsom Oaks winner, Minnie Hauk – and is primed for this with success at Southwell last month. But she is rated 26lb behind See The Fire.
The grey mare Lava Stream won her first two starts in the Spring of 2024 and was beaten only a neck in the Ribblesdale before finding both the Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks too much for her..
TO BE OR NOT TO BE HAMLET
⭕ 5.15 Musselburgh Three in the field have all won recently, Hamlet’s Night at Kempton in February.
Beaten only a neck in the Elite Hurdle, she achieved a rating 50lb higher than her Flat mark, and the inference is that she should quickly close some of the gap, a stone and more in normal circumstances.
Fast Fred scored over the CD here two weeks back, and Rising Sky won over shorter on the Dundalk Polytrack.
Top-rated Night Breeze comes good at Ascot, a class-2 strike there putting her on top of this handicap but trainer Ian Williams is 0-23
CLASS DROP BIG PERSUASION
⭕ 5.45 Musselburgh Abduction has won twice this year; the last day was over CD earlier this month, and Shay Farmer (7) takes over to try to hold the form with the third horse, Benacre, who is now better off at the weights and big at 18.0 on BETDAQ this morning.
Persuasion won over the CD in this month last year. Has kept good company since, and drops to class 4 for the first time in his life. BETDAQ 5.2 take.
HE CAN TURN BACK TIME..
⭕ 6.15 Musselburgh Edward Bethell is in good form (6-25) and dual winner Talismans Time could bounce straight back from a long absence since attempting the Melrose at York at a much higher level last summer.
Mountain Road has been twice as long away and has to give weight all round; Jim Goldie stablemate Trojan Sun is four times a Musselburgh winner but needs Lauren Young’s claim to get competitive at these weights. Senor Cortez has needed more than Jack Callan’s allowance in the past.
Whimsy has been Grade-3 placed twice over hurdles and her Flat form is now 47lb behind; she can be expected to close some of that gap.
Alther Walden looks punished enough for low-level success but was well backed for both his wins and goes for a hat-trick with jockey Kevin Stott on 6-25.
DAQMAN’S BETS
on Betdaq Betting Exchange
4.55 Nottingham (win 15)
BET 1pt win and two place THAT’S AMORE
(plus 1pt RF with SEE THE FIRE)
★ 5.15 Musselburgh (win 15, nap)
BET 11pts win HAMLETS NIGHT
5.45 Musselburgh (win 21)
BET 5pts win PERSUASION
BET 1pt win and place BENACRE
6.15 Musselburgh (win 20)
BET 4pts win TALISMAN’S TIME
BET 8pts to win 10 ALTHER WALDEN
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