TWO MORE SUPERNAPS AND A BULL’S-EYE BET: Daqman’s late-season attack continues today, after just one of a pair of Supernaps won yesterday. Two more this afternoon plus a bull’s-eye bet to win 50 points. It’s the start of a big weekend at Newbury and Doncaster but, far more important to Jumps fans, the start of Cheltenham’s big-race season.
PRECIOUS DOUBLE FOR GOSDEN
1.40 Newbury For seven successive seasons, this race has been won by stalls 1 to 5, usually one well backed, so can we ‘expect’ No More Thrills (with the one draw), who has had a run?
No, say the 200 Racing Post ‘experts’. No, says the market, which showed 18.5 on BETDAQ this morning, with George Of Hearts red hot at 2.78 from stall 15, and with Salute The Soldier (from 10), Is It off (13) and Jahaafel (14) the only others backed.
Even Thrills’ apprentice-ridden stablemate, Drakefell (12), is a shorter price, with this heavy trending of the high draw.
Though Telltale (stall 6) is a first foal, he is of interest as a son of Monsieur Bond out of a Dutch Art mare, and could be forward in the maturity process, having already been gelded.
The stalls are in the centre, so every sucker has an even break. But the jockeys are likely to follow the high-stall trending and head over that side. I call Hearts but can’t resist some Thrills.
2.50 Newbury The last five winners have come out of the lowest six stalls. The favourite, Precious Ramotswe, is on the cusp in gate 7, so has six runners each side of her.
Same trainer and same sire as Enable, but Oaks, Ribblesdale and Coronation Stakes entries had to be shelved because of a setback.
If second-favourite Lime And Lemon, a right bridesmaid (230322 since last July) is the best they can back against her, then Ramotswe has precious little to fear.
3.25 Newbury The cleverly-named Mount Nelson gelding, Duke Of Bronte, is the outsider of three, stepped up in trip, level weights with Time To Study but 9lb behind in the ratings.
Time To Study, who won the Mallard, is down in trip, after weakening out of the Cesarewitch, and is expected to ‘do a Johnston’ and go off in front, stalked by the improver, Royal Line.
Royal Line is superbly bred, by Dubawi, out of a half-sister to Galileo and Sea The Stars, and looks another late-season rabbit out of the hat for John Gosden, after Precious Ramotswe in the previous race.
4.35 Newbury I have Dark Magic down in my notebook as one to watch out for, but easy to back (out to 12.5 on BETDAQ), while Alaadel was all the rage in the markets this morning.
Dark Magic, bred to be special, got off the mark very easily in July but has been sidelined while trainer Dean Ivory has been building his reputation with a first Group-1 winner (Librisa Breeze) in the same sprint category.
Alaadel, unlucky not to win at Ascot at this trip in a lower-level race, has stall 7; otherwise the market has swung to the low numbers! Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.
OUTBACK CAN FINISH OUT FRONT
2.35 Cheltenham The 2015 winner of this (trained Paul Nicholls) went on to be placed – one win – in the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham festival, and the same stable’s Poquelin (2008) set up a sequence of six Cheltenham successs. So Movewithtimes, man!
3.35 Doncaster Stalls 10 to 22 have won this eight times in the decade, with 16 to 22 taking six of them.
With Hoof It (all 16) and Go Far (18) likely to take the high side along, I fancy a late finish from Jamie Spencer on Outback Traveller in the drying ground at sunny Donny: 7.4 on BETDAQ. Now here’s the invincible outback traveller, Winx…
WINX NOD TO THE ENGLISH FORM
0700 Moonee Valley, Saturday (Ladbrokes Cox Plate) We need Folkswood to run to form here for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby – it seems likely – to give us a line to Winx before she comes over to Europe.
Winx goes for a hat-trick in this race after 21 consecutive wins. Folkswood tries to step up on his recent Cranborne Cup success, first run Down Under.
Only a Listed that, while today is Group 1, and the gelding’s generous 112 rating – 20lb behind Winx – after being well beaten consecutively by Deauville (Chester) and Sovereign Debt (Epsom) leaves him trailing.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.40 Newbury (target return as stated)
BET (to win 10 points) 5.5pts win GEORGE OF HEARTS
BET (to win 20) 1pt win and place NO MORE THRILLS
2.35 Cheltenham (to win 20)
BET 10pts win MOVEWITHTIMES
2.50 Newbury (SP)
SUPERNAP: BET 20pts win PRECIOUS RAMOTSWE
3.25 Newbury (SP)
SUPERNAP: BET 20pts win ROYAL LINE
3.35 Doncaster (to win 30)
BET 5pts win and place OUTBACK TRAVELLER
4.35 Newbury (to win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 4.25pts win and place DARK MAGIC
STAKES SAVER: BET 3.5pts win ALAADEL
5.30 Cheltenham (to win 30)
BET 5.5pts win MAN OF PLENTY
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