CHELTENHAM CROSS-COUNTRY TAKES SPOTLIGHT: They’re off at Cheltenham and, with five of the six BETDAQ favourites this morning, the home defenders should ward off the few Irish raiders at the first meeting of the season. Today’s feature is a strong field for the cross-country. The novice chase, usually a good guide to the future, has just two runs, but appropriately, England v Ireland.
BULL’S-EYE! PRICEWISE IN DAQMAN SIGHTS AGAIN: Daqman, who beat Pricewise of the Racing Post 62-40 in their Flat-season value challenge, has 8.2 and 13.5 bull’s-eye bets in the opening clash of the Jumps today.
BELGOPRINCE FIRST IRISH GAMBLE
Ireland 23, England 5. Painful memories of the rugby scoreline at the Cheltenham Festival for English trainers who today saddle five of the six morning favourites on BETDAQ in the early skirmishes of another season at Cheltenham.
Just a sprinkling of Irish raiders today but many punters will go straight to their shortest in the betting? Gin On Lime (2.20), Balko des Flos (2.55), Off Your Rocco (3.30) and an early handicap gamble for Tony Martin, Belgoprince (4.00), a yankee that would rub salt in the wounds.
JONJO COULD STITCH THEM UP..
⭕ 1.10 Cheltenham As you might expect the winner of this conditional jockey’s race is a rider with experience: unable to claim at all or with only 3lb left of his claim (score 8-10).
Nine of the 10 winners in the decade have been 7-1 or shorter SP, and David Pipe has won it four times. He saddles Neon Moon (Fergus Gillard), a winner twice after a break.
Top claimers on winners this season so far: Liam Harrison (Art Approval), Kevin Brogan (An Tailliur), Luca Morgan (Apple Rock), Jack Tudor (Asserted). Unbeaten An Tailliur was another morning gamble: tailor-made for Jonjo O’Neill?
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE 4.4 An Tailliur
KAP THIS FOR BETDAQ VALUE!
⭕ 1.45 Cheltenham Magic Saint also has a conditional aboard, Angus Cheleda, who won a good prize over hurdles on Calva D’Auge in the week but whose last chase winner was at Taunton in March (0-3 this season) and is faced here with the Cheltenham obstacles.
The good news is that Magic Saint won this for a boy last year and goes for a repeat after wind ops; the bad news is that he has been placed only once since, and the placed horses behind him last year have afterwards both failed to score over fences or hurdles.
Editeur Du Gite looked like winning at Ascot when he unseated, while Stolen Silver and Kap Auteuil are both off the mark. As brother to A Plus Tard, Kap Auteuil could continue his progress.
BETDAQ value 7.6 Kap Auteuil
MY DROGO TONIC OVER GIN
⭕ 2.20 Cheltenham Gin And Lime is almost a stone behind My Drogo on hurdles form but is the only Irish opposition – the only opposition of any kind – on how the strapping Drogo takes to fences in his debut novices chase, which is usually a good guide.
Clear rounds for both, we hope, but unlikely any clear insight into their abilities, though a My Drogo win would be an early tonic for England and Harry Skelton.
CROSS-COUNTRY CORNERED
⭕ 2.55 Cheltenham (3m 6f cross-country) Halfway through the winning run in this by Enda Bolger (2015, 16 and 18), the race changed from level weights to a handicap.
Were they racing off levels today, Grand National runner-up Balko des Flos would be odds on to follow another Aintree second, Balthazar King, who won this in 2014.
In another recent ‘change’ – from reality to celluloid – for a computerised TV version of the Aintree spectacular, Potters Corner ‘won’ the 2020 Grand National.
Horses aged 10 and 11 have won this cross-country six times in 10 years, three times in five since it became a handicap. No winner has carried more than 11st 2lb since.
Here now we have Potters Corner, aged 11, carrying 10st 2lb, after a run back, perfectly primed for a hit, a stone lower than when he finished third in the race a year ago.
But he’s not alone among the sub-11stoners. In fact, Balko Des Flos is rated a stone higher than anything else, so his rivals ALL carry 10st 12lb or less. And it will be a pretty fast-run race on top of the ground.
Back On The Lash is a young front-runner and Freewheelin Dylan did just that when he made virtually all in the Irish Grand National in April, though I note that the cheekpieces that inspired him then are left off today, and he has never before done the job first time back.
Alpha Des Obeaux, also placed in an Aintree Grand National, was fourth to Tiger Roll in the Festival cross-country at Cheltenham in March but has not won a race for three years and has a poor strike rate of 2-31 in four years.
Singing Banjo won two banks races at Punchestown in the Spring including the La Touche, though has been absent since June, when he completed a hat-trick in an ordinary chase.
Though inexperienced across country, Balko Des Flos stablemate Plan Of Attack feels at home at Cheltenham, where he was fourth in the 2020 Kim Muir and might have gone close in the race again this year but stumbled and fell three out.
BETDAQ value 8.2 Plan Of Attack, 13.5 Potters Corner
ROCCO TO CARRY THE PENALTY
⭕ 3.30 Cheltenham (2m 5f Ballymore novice hurdle) This is the race to watch! You’d be Off Your Rocco (Gordon Elliottt) to ignore it: the five-year-old is already rated 140.
Fingal Bay, Coneygree, Parlour Games, On the Blind Side and Thyme Hill have all won it in the decade, going on to land festival honours in such as the Pertemps Final and even the Gold Cup.
Gellino Bello went clear in his opening novice hurdle of the season at Aintree in October, and Current Mood was impressive at Ludlow last week, both hoping Off Your Rocco’s 5lb penalty is translated into lengths!
But penalties were carried by both Thyme Hill and Peregrine Run in the last five years, and trainer Gordon Elliottt has had 20 winners in the last fortnight.
BETDAQ value 3.8 Off Your Rocco
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.10 Cheltenham (win 10)
BET 3pts win AN TAILLIUR
1.45 Cheltenham (win 10)
BET 1.5pts win KAP AUTEUIL
2.55 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 7pts win PLAN OF ATTACK
BET 4pts win POTTERS CORNER
3.30 Cheltenham (win 10, nap)
BET 3.5pts win OFF YOUR ROCCO
4.00 Cheltenham (win 11)
BET 1.25pts win BELGOPRINCE
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.
