LOOK OUT FOR A GOODWOOD GAMBLE: It’s a busy Friday. The opening of the Curragh Guineas meeting tonight after the Goodwood Classic trials for Derby and Oaks. Daqman says that the trials have better potential than in recent years. His nap covers the stakes for three bull’s-eye bets.
FORTUNE COOKIES ARE THE ELITE: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Daqman opposed Elite Status yesterday but now adds him to his Fortune Cookies’ horses to follow after a scintillating win at Sandown. Hackman (3rd 8-1) was his win and place bet in the race.
UNDERSTATED BRED TO STEP UP
⭕ 3.00 Goodwood (Height Of Fashion Stakes) Height of Fashion was a magnificent Bustino mare owned and bred by the Queen.
She won the Lupe Stakes of 1982 as top-rated two-year-old filly of the year before and, at the same time, poached the name of the Lupe, which became the Height Of Fashion Stakes.
If it hadn’t been for Henry Cecil with Scimitarra (1987) and Love Divine (2000), it wouldn’t have much to shout about as a trial until Snow Fairy (2010) who would go on to land the Epsom and Irish Oaks double for Ed Dunlop.
Winners tend to have had just one or two races, not exposed like Heavenly Breath, Fast Tara and Sirona.
Recent winning trainers include Ralph Beckett, who is back with Understated today, plus Charlie Appleby (Veil of Shadows) and William Haggas (Blue Missile), who won it last year, but this pair are drawn high in 10 and 11 and will need some quality steering from Tom Marquand and William Buick.
Understated is by Nathaniel, who suddenly improved in his second season to land the King Edward V11 Stakes and the King George double at Ascot. Down the dam’s side is another King George winner, Postponed.
Other strong stables are represented in what could be a relevant Height of Fashion renewal: Team Gosden with two, Andrew Balding and Marcus Tregoning on his local course, so watch the BETDAQ market.
BETDAQ value 12.5 Understated
SWEET ON A GUINEAS ALSO-RAN
⭕ 3.15 Haydock (Cecil Frail Stakes) It’s a long time since older horses beat the youngsters in this: the score in the decade is 3yo 5 and 4yo 5.
It’s also a negative that the overnight favourite, Gale Force Maya, aged 7, has twice won first time out in the Spring but failed this time.
In her second Newmarket-Listed defeat by Azure Blue, she was a lot further behind that one earlier this month than on the same course in October.
Makarova has also been placed twice behind Azure Blue and is closely matched with Kape Moss at HQ earlier this month and with Gale Force Maya on the form of another Newmarket Listed, last October.
Princess Shabnam was always doing enough to beat Gale Force Maya on firm ground at Pontefract in August. When they are ‘all of a heap’ like this, the rule is to look for an improver among the others.
I doubt it’s Get Ahead, whose sole win since her debut was at Goodwood, which doesn’t give you confidence for her moving up to 6f now; she’s tried it unsuccessfully before.
The answer may be the three-year-old Sweet Harmony, who had the ground against her in the Nell Gwyn stakes and the 1,000 Guineas. She takes a keen hold and sprinting could be her game.
Betdaq Betting Exchange value 12.0 Sweet Harmony
GREGORY COCKED HAT GAMBLE
⭕ 4.10 Goodwood (Cocked Hat Stakes) Since Troy – worth his weight in gold – won the race, as the 1979 Predominate Stakes, this so-called trial has lost its tag of last-chance saloon for Derby contenders.
But there could be a Klondike gold rush to get on William Haggas’s King Edward V11 Stakes contender a month from now. Tempered Soul, who is better than the bare form, and Hadrianus also target that race.
But word has it that Hadrianus will go for the 2m Northumberland Plate, which suggests that Frankie Dettori will try to make all on him in this 1m 3f prep.
Klondike, who won his maiden over today’s trip, is half-brother to a Queen‘s Vase winner, and could cover that move with his own obvious potential for staying further than this.
Gambled-on this morning, Gregory (Golden Horn) is out of a Galileo mare, half-sister to an Irish St Leger winner.
So, for once, we could be looking at a strong contender for Classic honours, more likely the St Leger, from this stamina-laden field.
VOYAGE LOOKS JUST THE TICKET
⭕ 7.30 Curragh (Emerald Mile) You need to back one drawn high and one low for this near-60,000-euro prize.
Ado McGuinness has set that up, taking over last year’s second out of gate 9, No More Porter, to add to last year’s fourth out of 19, Pierre Lapin. And the wheel of fortune has them in 7 and 18 today!
Ado also has three other runners, including the claimed-off overnight favourite, Tosen Wish (stall 11), fifth to Earls and All Lies Ahead over 7f on heavy ground three weeks back.
Fourth that day, and looking for another furlong, was six-times AW winner Final Voyage, who has a chance here to use the turn of foot I saw him show at Lingfield in April when he absolutely won as he liked: slowly away, and a nonchalant six wide on the turn but produced a boggling turn of foot to score going away.
BETDAQ value 17.5 Final Voyage
DAQMAN’S BETS
3.00 Goodwood (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 4.25pts win UNDERSTATED
3.15 Haydock (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 4.5pts win SWEET HARMONY
4.10 Goodwood (win 12 nap)
BET 10pts win GREGORY
7.30 Curragh (win-50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 3pts win FINAL VOYAGE
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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.
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