A HERO EVERY DAY FOR DAQMAN: Four days in a row with a winner. Daqman has found something that pays every day this week so far, after a truly heroic fight by Heros in a two-horse battle to the line at Taunton, more than 11 lengths clear of the remainder.
WON 11-10 HEROS (Thursday)
WON 5-2 INTERVENTION (Wednesday)
WON 11-4 SAVVY BRILLIANCE (Tuesday)
WON 8-13 JEUNE BELLE (Monday nap)
FORTUNE COOKIES AT CHELTENHAM: Cheltenham over two days starts with Daqman bets at 2.88, 16.5 and 5.9 in racecard order plus two Fortune Cookies with 20-point stakes in the cross-country feature.
TWO DAYS OF FESTIVAL TRIALS
Day One at Cheltenham
Daqman 8, Pricewise 2 (+157.75 to -125.00)
105 naps up this year
đș Fortune Cookies: 3.00 Gesskille, Latenightpass
â 12.40 Cheltenham No sign of multiple winner of this novice chase, Nicky Henderson, but his nemesis, Paul Nicholls, saddles Ginnyâs Destiny at a price.
âGinnyâ landed a similar race a few yards shorter on the old course at Cheltenham, scoring 10 lengths on the soft (Crebilly fell when pressing leader two out).
It was the Nicholls geldingâs second run for the Ditcheat team, after being switched from Tom Laceyâs yard.
In the second run of the year for Lacey, a Grade-2 novice hurdle, âGinnyâ was beaten five lengths at levels by Grey Dawning, who gives 3lb today, but the Skeltonâs six-year-old looks a worthy favourite, after stepping up from a novice-chase third to an open handicap.
He slammed Grand National third, Gaillard Du Mesnil, that day in a class-2 graduation chase.
Nicholls hopes he has some measure of the form through Stay Away Fay, who beat Grey Dawning almost three lengths over 3m at Exeter last month.
The big horse Trelawne completed a hat-trick when landing his debut chase at Carlisle, and Alan King runs Tritonic, whoâs had 33 races though only six, rated 138 over fences from a ârun once won once’ situation (over a shorter trip at Wincanton).
MR MACKAY HOLDS THE KEY
â 1.15 Cheltenham Only one winner of this 2m 1f handicap hurdle has been over the age of six in the decade. Are the older hurdlers disadvantaged, including the favourite, Doddiethegreat?
How tickled Nicky Henderson would be if âDoddieâ scored with 11st 11lb; not done in the decade, though Nico De Boinville, the top-weightâs rider, won off just 2lb less in 2014.
Best winner for me was Al Dancer (2018) for Nigel Twiston-Davies. His four-year-old Mr Mackay is getting 25lb from âDoddieâ and 11lb from Donnacha.
Donnacha was about 5lb the better horse when they were second and fourth to the top-notch Impose Toi here at Cheltenham last month. Itâs James Turnerâs 7lb claim that puts him in front; can he make it tell on the soft ground? BETDAQ 16.5 taken
The Nicholls hope, Panjari, played up at the start when evens favourite over hurdles at Chepstow in October, and finished 22 and more lengths behind Donnacha.
TAKE MALAITA NOT MALMAISON
â 1.50 Cheltenham A mares handicap chase of 2m 4f on the new course, with a reputation for shock results.
One favourite has won but so have 12-1, 16-1 and 33-1 shots in the last seven seasons. Letâs try to find a short shot from the quality horses and an outsider from those getting lumps of weight.
Gavin Cromwellâs raider, La Malmaison, is light on form but potentially very dark.
She has won only her maiden on debut and nothing else since, always a bad sign, and you have to go largely on promise.
She showed that when third to Found A Fifty at Down Royal. That one was afterwards runner-up to 158-rated I Am Maximus.
La Malmaison was 17 lengths (equivalent) behind at Down Royal, which suggests she is let off a few pounds, enabling her to squeeze into the top of this class 3. But she still has to produce a finish.
Walk In Clover was back-to-back winner in maresâ only chases, the first of them on good ground over todayâs CD. Sheâs run well over 2m this autumn and is now back up in trip.
Malaita took the big-field Mares Hurdle Final in the Challenger series here in the Spring and is poised 15lb and 11lb below the top pair.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 5.9 Malaita
STAMINA TEST FOR GESSKILLE
â 3.00 Cheltenham Once again, mindful of the soft ground, they are asking a lot of the top-weighted trio, Minella Indo, Galvin and Fury Road. Winners of this in the decade have all carried less.
I saw this coming and earlier in the week hoped to pre-empt the situation with two red-hot rising stars to earn some profit for Fortune Cookies from down the handicap.
There they are, Gesskille and Latenightpass who, at 10, is no youngster but heâs stepped out of the hunter-chase arena which won him the Foxhunters at Aintree and all but made his banks debut a winning one. A close second to Foxy Jacks over the CD in November, he had the rest 10 lengths and more behind (Didero Valdis 3rd, Francky Du Berlais 4th, Galvin 8th, Diesel DâAllier 9th).
Gesskilleâs ability has been revealed over the Grand National fences (winner and second in the Grand Sefton, second in the Becher).
He is brother to a cross-country winner in France and swerved the Becher this time to test his stamina in this discipline in the manner of a Tiger Roll, with the Grand National his target if he passes this 3m 5f test.
Minella Indo is 17lb lower in the ratings than when runner-up in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup. He seems best of the big weights.
DAQMANâS BETS
12.40 Cheltenham (win 10, nap)
BET 5pts win GREY DAWNING
1.15 Cheltenham (win 50 bullâs-eye bet)
BET 3.35pts win and 1.65pts place MR MACKAY
1.50 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 4pts win MALAITA
3.00 Cheltenham
đș FORTUNE COOKIES
BET 20pts win GESSKILLE
BET 20pts win LATENIGHTPASS
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