DAQMAN TREBLE OPENS AINTREE: Daqman landed three winning bets on the opening day of the Aintree Grand National meeting yesterday. It gave him three winning naps out of four on the week in three winning days of profit. The value-challenge score going into Topham Trophy day is Daqman 9, Pricewise 5.
Aintree Day 1: profit on the day 48 points
WON 9-4 GERRI COLOMBE (nap)
WON 5-1 SANS BRUIT BETDAQ 6.5 taken
WON 3-1 IT’S ON THE LINE BETDAQ 5.6 taken
Wednesday: profit on the day 31 points
WON 4-1 MR HOPE STREET BETDAQ 6.0 taken
WON 6-5 NO HALF MEASURES (nap)
Monday: profit on the day 14.50 points
WON 3-1 ROYAL MER (nap)
WON 5-2 CIARA PEARL
GOING: The going at Aintree is said to be soft for Day 2 after a dry night.
TRAINERFORM: Winning trainers with form on the day yesterday were: Willie Mullins 121320, Emmet Mullins 301, Paul Nicholls 230012, Gordon Elliott 1000, Nicky Henderson 1440, Ben Pauling 1.
I’M THINKIN HE’S NAP OF THE DAY
⭕ 1.45 Aintree (Mildmay Novices Chase) The last two winners of this, Gerri Colombe and Ahoy Senor, had a fabulous fight for the Aintree Bowl yesterday.
Eight out of the last 10 Mildmay winners have been 3-1 or shorter, five of them clear favourite, so you know the way I’m thinking!
Gerri Colombe shook off his fatigue from Cheltenham. Now Chianti Classico, Inothewayurthinkin and Iroko must do the same.
Chianti Classico’s Ultima win and his follow-up effort today could be a Grand National boost to the third horse home at the festival, Meetingofthewaters.
Iroko, who ran well in the Sefton Novices Hurdle on this card last year, was beaten at Cheltenham but had not long recovered from a foot injury.
My pick is Inothewayurthinkin, who seemed to have no trouble at all taking the Kim Muir off 12st topweight, which raised his rating 13lb, putting him clear of his field this afternoon. BETDAQ 2.82 taken.
TRY 9.0 TWIST TO BUST KATEIRA
⭕ 2.20 Aintree A handicap hurdle of 2m 4f won mainly by horses aged five and six, off a maximum of 11st 4lb.
Dan Skelton has a strong contender in Kateira, second in a big-field Mersey Novices Hurdle at this meeting last year, with the winner going on to take the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown and recently to run second to State Man in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle.
Skelton stablemate Boombawn is just a pound behind on the strength of back-to-back success here at Aintree last Spring and then at Kempton this March. But he’s been kept mainly to good ground.
Though Springwell Bay’s second at Musselburgh over 3m has been boosted by the winner, he has a big weight for one more than a dozen lengths behind Kateira in that Mersey novices.
Champagne Twist won the NH Novices Handicap Hurdle at Sandown on the soft. His dam is a Kayf Tara mare who won up to 3m.
Sonigino has never taken to Cheltenham but was third in this race at Aintree a year ago and went on to score over the CD on heavy in December.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 6.3 Kateira, 9 Champagne Twist, 27 Sonigino
NICHOLLS’ PIC TO BEAT JONBON
⭕ 3.30 Aintree (Melling Chase) Conflated swerves the Grand National to run in this with first-time cheekpieces. He’s just been lacking that vital edge since taking the Savills at Leopardstown in December 2022.
Third to Galopin des Champs in the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup; third to Gerri Colombe in the Champion Chase at Down Royal and, would you believe, third to Protektorat in the Ryanair back at the festival again last month.
It was a return to form for Protektorat, who scored twice here at Aintree in 2021 on this Mildmay course.
Pic D’Orhy beat a reduced field for this Melling Chase last year and he, too, was back to form, when taking the Ascot Chase in February. I took 5.9 on BETDAQ.
Jonbon won seven chases out of eight around 2m, with only El Fabiolo able to stop him (in the Arkle) but he was turned over at 4-1 on in the Clarence House in January
Let down by his jumping that day, he now tries a longer trip with a more sedate pace. Young horses below the age of nine have won nine of the last 10 and he’s the only one today.
FIND ME A WINNER: YES, KANDOO
⭕ 4.05 Aintree (Topham Trophy) The Foxhunters was run only half a minute slow yesterday and it went to form, with 10 finishers out of 22 starters, and the National course looked good.
Last year’s Topham one-two, Bill Baxter and Fantastic Lady, are back; so, too, the third, Killer Kane, but he was well beaten that day and has let the form down since.
In the Plate at Cheltenham a month back, when he was a close fourth (Frero Banbou and James Du Berlais 6th and 7th, Embittered 11th), Life In The Park never got into it behind Shakem Up’Arry, who was raised 6lb but still missed the cut for tomorrow’s Grand National.
Greatwood Gold Cup runner-up, Kandoo Kid, sits nicely in this handicap, and news of the ground helps Your Darling. His form is 11101 after three-figure breaks and his yard, which did well at Cheltenham, scored yesterday with its first runner of the Aintree meeting.
If he can jump the fences, The Edgar Wallace (my favourite watering-hole off Fleet Street) should take them along for a stable which bounced back to the good times, when taking the Ultima at Cheltenham with Chianti Classico (runs 1.45 today).
BETDAQ value offers: 7.8 Life In The Park, 13 Kandoo Kid, 19.5 Your Darling, 52.0 The Edgar Wallace
WRONG TO PLAY THE JUKEBOX..
⭕ 4.40 Aintree (Sefton Novices Hurdle) Thistlecrack, Champ and Ahoy Senor are recent winners of this. Nicky Henderson 3-7 in recent years.
Sir Gino jump-started Aintree for Henderson and, if Jonbon has failed to last out over a new trip, Shanagh Bob will have to keep the engine running before an outside chance with Champ in the Liverpool Hurdle tomorrow.
Bob won the Albert Bartlett trial in December, when two winners came out of the first four, but had to swerve the festival and he’s poor value at 5.9 on BETDAQ, 16lb behind the top rating here.
The Jukebox Man was headed in the final strides of the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, and trainer Ben Pauling is on a hat-trick today, 1-1 at Aintree yesterday.
The winner in that race at the festival was Stellar Story, turning around Dublin Festival placings with Willie Mullins’s Dancing City, third, beaten more than 18 lengths.
Punters are now looking to Paul Townend on the Mullins first string, Readin Tommy Wrong, who pulled up, a disappointing favourite, in that Albert Bartlett, though he’d beaten Croke Park 23 lengths at Naas in January.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.45 Aintree (win 20, nap)
BET 11pts win INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN
2.20 Aintree (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 9pts win KATEIRA
BET 6pts win CHAMPAGNE TWIST
BET 2pts win and place SONIGINO
3.30 Aintree (win 20)
BET 4pts win PIC D’ORHY
4.05 Aintree (win-50 bulls’-eye bets)
BET 4pts win KANDOO KID
BET 2.75pts win YOUR DARLING
BET 1pt win and place THE EDGAR WALLACE
4.40 Aintree (win 20)
BET 5.75pts win READIN TOMMY WRONG
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