NOW IT’S 11 WINNING CHELTENHAM BETS: Daqman yesterday took his score to 11 winning bets at Cheltenham this week, using the best of BETDAQ to bag TWO double whammys in one day: that’s two winners with the favourite laid successfully in each race.
LAYS LOGIC: is now 10-15 and his duel with Pricewise has clear water between them at 42-24. He made 100-plus profit on Tuesday (see Archive) and more than 80 points on Thursday. Yesterday’s hits below (full details of the week and festival wrap after Gold Cup day):
Thursday: profit on the day: 80.92
WON 15-2 LOVE ENVOI
WON (unplaced 11-8) DINOBLUE lay same race
WON 4-1 FLOORING PORTER
WON 6-5 BOB OLINGER (Fortune Cookie)
WON (fell 5-6) GALOPIN DES CHAMPS lay same race
WON 4-7 ALLAHO (Fortune Cookie, supernap)
Updates (current season)
Daqman 42 Pricewise 24
Lays Logic: 10-15
Fortune Cookies: 21-31 Profit 132.95
Gold Cup day headlines
GB-IRELAND NECK AND NECK
FIL FANCIED FOR STAMINA
CORK CAN POP FOR SKELTON
I’M STAYING WITH GINTO
PROTEKTORAT PAINTED GOLD
THE WINGED HUNTER-CHASER
MOUNT IDA THE DAY’S NAP
ENERGY LEFT FOR THE LAST
GB-IRELAND NECK AND NECK
TRAINERS SO FAR: (Ireland 11, Great Britain 10); Willie Mullins 5; two each Henry De Bromhead, Gordon Elliott, Nicky Henderson and Venetia Willams; one each Gavin Cromwell, Harry Fry, Alan King, Hughie Morrison, Ben Pauling, Padraig Roche, Lucinda Russell, Evan Williams.
JOCKEYS: Paul Townend 3; two each Rachael Blackmore, Nico De Boinville and Patrick Mullins; one each Jonathan Burke Tom Cannon, Charlie Deutsch, Shane Fitzgerald, Derek Fox, Jack Kennedy, Danny Mullins, Tom O’Brien, Lucy Turner, Mark Walsh, Adam Wedge, Kielan Woods.
FAVOURITES: Wjt; W; 0; W; 0; 2; 2; W; W; 0; 0; W; 2; W; 0; 2co; W; 0; 2; 0; 2jt.
FIL FANCIED FOR STAMINA
⭕ 1.30 Cheltenham (Triumph Hurdle)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
RATINGS: Vauban 146, Fil Dor and Pied Piper 142; Knight Salute and Porticello 140.
FORTUNE COOKIE: Fil Dor
FORM: Closely-connected form, with Pied Piper beating Vauban (met interference) half a length on heavy at Punchestown, before Vauban beat Fil Dor two lengths on yielding at the Dublin Festival. Il Etait Temps was third.
It was the Vauban’s speed that won the day at Leopardstown, not so evident on heavy at Punchestown, and Vauban could find Fil Dor more of a handful on soft ground on today’s track.
Similarly, Porticello loves the mud; he won the Victor Ludorum (heavy) but was beaten by that street-fighter Knight Salute on good to soft.
Five-in-a-row Knight Salute also won the Adonis on good to soft, giving weight to Teddy Blue.
CORK CAN POP FOR SKELTON
⭕ 2.10 Cheltenham (County Hurdle)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
ANTE-POST: 11.0 West Cork
FORM: West Cork won the Greatwood Hurdle on the Old course here in November, beating the subsequent Kingwell runner-up, with Wednesday’s Coral Cup fourth in fourth place again.
The handicapper has taken no chances with Willie Mullins’ Limerick maiden winner State Man, but Gordon Elliott helps Willie out by running Call Me Lyreen off 152.
Gordon’s own improver, Top Bandit, has been hiked 16lb for a hat-trick in novice company, breaking his maiden here on the Old course in October.
Colonel Mustard has kept the classiest novice company, placed at Grade 1 and 2 levels behind Jonbon and Sir Gerhard, who have taken the form to an even higher level this week.
Suprise Package skipped clear in the Imperial Cup but has a 5lb penalty and that success was only six days back. He had finished 18 lengths behind Call Me Lyreen in February, receiving 8lb; now gets 5lb with Lyreen claimed off.
Nigel Twiston Davies’ runners in big handicap hurdles at Cheltenham this week have been disappointing so far, both beaten into seventh place after showing up well.
His five-year-old I Like To Move It won two races at Cheltenham in a hat-trick on top of the ground, and was short-head second, with First Street third (rallying), in the big BF Hurdle at Newbury last month.
I’M STAYING WITH GINTO
⭕ 2.50 Cheltenham (Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
RATINGS: Ginto 150, Hillcrest 148, Good Time Johnny and Minella Crooner 146
FORTUNE COOKIE: Ginto
FORM: Hillcrest has stepped up 20lb in the ratings for Cheltenham and Haydock strikes. His runner-up at Cheltenham, I Am Maximus, was left standing by Sir Gerhard on Wednesday, but at least Hillcrest has scored on the course and has won at 3m.
Ginto has not, but he skipped the Ballymore for this longer distance, after Gordon Elliott promised: ‘Once he gets a trip and soft ground, you’ll know what he’s really made of’.
His Naas victim, by four lengths or so, Grand Jury, was beaten out of sight by Minella Cocooner at the Dublin Festival but that was 2m 6f.
The winner (in first-time hood) seemed to steal the race and Willie Mullins said afterwards: ‘I don’t see any need to go up in trip.’ He has.
All part of the happy conundrum that makes picking your way across the Irish runners a bit like walking on hot coals.
I’m staying (!) with Ginto (pictured below) but there are 13 last-time winners in the race, eight of them on hat-tricks or four-timers, among them a five-year-old bred like a Derby winner: Stag Horn by Golden Horn out of a Galileo mare!
LAYS LOGIC: I laid 3.7 in the green against Hillcrest this morning, taking Ginto or one of the many unexposed runners to ‘get’ him.
PROTEKTORAT PAINTED GOLD
⭕ 3.30 Cheltenham (Gold Cup)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
RATINGS: Minella Indo 174, A Plus Tard 172, Al Boum Photo 170, Galvin 168, Tornado Flyer 167, Royal Pagaille 166, Protektorat 164.
FORTUNE COOKIE: Protektorat
ANTE-POST: 11.0 Protektorat, 21.0 Royal Pagaille
FORM: Dual previous winner Al Boum Photo was outpaced, third, last year to Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, with Royal Pagaille (finished lame) sixth.
Waiting in the wings are the new kids, Galvin, who pipped A Plus Tard a short-head in the Savills, and Protektorat, who slammed the 2018 Gold hero Native River 25 lengths at Aintree in November.
A tremendous field. Will the promise of another sunny day help Galvin in time; he has never won a chase on the soft.
Al Boum Photo, A Plus Tard, Minella Indo, Royal Pagaille and Tornado Flyer have all scored on soft-heavy.
THE WINGED HUNTER-CHASER
⭕ 4.10 Cheltenham (Hunter-chasers’ Challenge Cup)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
RATINGS: Billaway 140; and on 139 It Came To Pass, Pont Aven and Winged Leader, with 137 Bob And Co and Dubai Quest.
ANTE-POST: Pont Aven 11.0
FORM: Previous form in the race is useful. The 2020 winner, It Came To Pass, is a veteran now at 12, but last year’s short-head runner-up, Billaway, remains in top form though wouldn’t want the ground to dry up too much.
Despite being absent nine months, he was odds-on beaten favourite by a strong-running Winged Leader at Thurles in January after trying to make all.
Billaway tracked the leaders in today’s race last year, leading at the turn-in but not fluent two out, which cost him the race.
After being Grade A placed twice for Willie Mullins, Pont Aven was stepped up to 3m by his new connections, who were rewarded with back-to-back strikes in a Point and then a class-4 hunter-chase at Ludlow.
I took 6.9 Winged Leader and added a bit more to Pont Aven, who was 15.0 on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE this morning.
MOUNT IDA THE DAY’S NAP
⭕ 4.50 Cheltenham (Mares’ Chase)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11)
RATINGS: Mount Ida 156, Elimay 155, Concertista 152.
FORTUNE COOKIE: Mount Ida
ANTE-POST: Vienna Court 15.0
FORM: I put up Mount Ida for the Grand National on the trainer’s say-so. She won the Kim Muir last year in remarkable manner, getting well behind and trading at huge odds before a storming late run.
She prepped for this by turning around her Mares Chase defeat behind Elimay at the Fairyhouse Festival, beating the same mare there in January, though on 9lb worse terms.
Mount Ida tends to jump right and was not always fluent in the Kim Muir, and faces three other course winners: Concertista, Vienna Court and Pink Legend.
Drying ground wouldn’t help the novice Concertista, who hasn’t beaten much in two Grade-2 wins over fences, but is a winner (Mares Novices Hurdle 2020) and twice second at Cheltenham festivals.
Vienna Court was impressive over today’s CD in December. It was a proper test, with the runner-up in the frame 14 times in her career, but there’s nothing between Vienna Court and Pink Legend on Huntingdon form and both have a stone and more to find.
ENERGY LEFT FOR THE LAST
⭕ 5.30 Cheltenham (Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle)
REPRISE: See Festival stats (Daqman Archive: Friday, March 11).
FORM: Shane Fitzgerald, who won the Coral Cup on Wednesday on a 50-1 shot, tries to steer another hurdler through a similar pack over a similar trip today: Chemical Energy.
Chemical Energy (BETDAQ 14.0 this morning) couldn’t cope with the speed of Sir Gerhard in last year’s bumper but scored over hurdles for Shane at Fairyhouse in November, and has been ‘targeted for the Martin Pipe all season’ (Gordon Elliott).
His stablemate Hollow Games (first-time tongue-tie) has been mixing it in Grade-1 company.
Langer Dan, runner-up in this event last year, has had just one pipe-opener since and should go well, dropped 3lb.
Adamantly Chosen (I took 9.0), wide-margin winner at Thurles, travels very well in his races, and could have been let in lightly.
I think we should give a second chance to Ilikedwayurthinkin (49.0 offers), who’s been chasing since backed down to 13-2 for this in 2020, but twice hampered and behind early on.
He’s down in the weights and trainer Gavin Cromwell has produced Gabynako and Flooring Porter at peak for Cheltenham this week; he’s booked the smart Simon Torrens.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.30 Cheltenham
FORTUNE COOKIE
BET 10pts win FIL DOR
2.10 Cheltenham (win 50 ante-post, win 30)
BET 5pts win WEST CORK
BET 2.5pts win I LIKE TO MOVE IT
2.50 Cheltenham
FORTUNE COOKIE
BET 10pts win GINTO
3.30 Cheltenham (win-50 each ante-post, win 10 a place)
BET 5pts win PROTEKTORAT
BET 2.5pts win and place ROYAL PAGAILLE
4.10 Cheltenham (win 50 ante-post, win 30)
BET 5pts win PONT AVEN
BET 5pts win WINGED LEADER
4.50 Cheltenham
FORTUNE COOKIE
BET 10pts win MOUNT IDA (nap)
ANTE-POST (win 50)
BET 3.5pts win VIENNA COURT
5.30 Cheltenham (win 30 each, win 50 and 10 a place)
BET 2.5pts win CHEMICAL ENERGY
BET 4.25pts win ADAMANTLY CHOSEN
BET 1pt win and 1.25pts plac ILIKEWAYURTHINKIN
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
