DAQMAN! LICENSED TO THRILL ON THE BIG WEEKEND CARDS: Daqman prepares for a big weekend, putting his Fortune Cookies on parade for the Dublin Racing Festival, and assessing the form for the Winter Derby trial. He has one bet each at Chepstow, Lingfield and Newcastle today, his nap on one unbeaten in five starts at Lingfield, barring accident which struck him out of the race.
Headlines:
🔹 THE FORTUNE COOKIES DUBLIN FIVE
🔹 BINGO! GOSDEN SET TO CALL HOUSE
🔹 GHAZWANI THE ONE FOR THE MONEY
🔹 NAVIGATOR CAN TAKE THE CONTROLS
🔹 RED BOND GIVEN LICENCE TO THRILL
THE FORTUNE COOKIES’ DUBLIN FIVE
In on the action. Daqman will attempt to plunder the Dublin Racing Festival tomorrow and Sunday with five of seven treasure-seeking Fortune Cookies which are lined up for the weekend.
The Fortune Cookies, which are the cream of Daqman’s horses to follow, have runners in all three major races: the Arkle (Notebook), the Champion Hurdle (Honeysuckle) and the Irish Gold Cup (Delta Work).
🏇 Notebook (Henry De Bromhead) 2.00 Arkle Novice Chase; Leopardstown, Saturday
🏇 Go Whatever (Chris Gordon) 3.00 Grade-3 handicap hurdle; Sandown, Saturday
🏇 Crievehill (Nigel Twiston-Davies) 3.35 the 3m handicap chase; Sandown, Saturday
🏇 Honeysuckle (Henry De Bromhead) 3.10 Champion Hurdle; Leopardstown, Sunday
🏇 Easywork (Gordon Elliott) 1.55 Grade-1 novice hurdle; Leopardstown, Sunday
🏇 Battleoverdoyen (Gordon Elliott) 3.00 Grade-1 novice chase; Leopardstown Sunday
🏇 Delta Work (Gordon Elliott) 3.30 Irish Gold Cup, Leopardstown, Sunday.
BINGO! GOSDEN SET TO CALL HOUSE
⚠️ HEADS UP: If John Gosden wins the Winter Derby Trial tomorrow with Court House, the real thing at Lingfield on February 22 will be his bar the shouting.
Gosden already has the first two favourites in the Winter Derby, Dubai Warrior and Global Giant, and a Court House victory would be at the expense of the third and fourth in the market, Bangkok and Extra Elusive. Game over.
⚠️ HEADS UP: While Leopardstown has its own two-day ‘Cheltenham’ tomorrow and Sunday, in the guise of the Dublin Racing Festival, Edinburgh has its Scottish version, with an Edinburgh National thrown in for good measure.
Though Ayr in the Spring is the home of the Scottish Champion Hurdle and the Scottish Grand National, Musselburgh Saturday stages the Scottish County Hurdle, Scottish Champion Chase and Scottish Foxhunter.
⚠️ HEADS UP: Harry The Viking, who won for the first time nine years ago, could turn out, aged 15, for the Edinburgh National. The money in the week has been for Paul Nicholls’ Wonderful Charm, to be ridden by Sam Waley-Cohen. He’s the tender age of 12.
GHAZWANI THE ONE FOR THE MONEY
3.15 Lingfield The class 2 at 2.10 is lost to betting because of only four runners, 50% for Mark Johnston. Tactical or what!
Johnston has Sky Defender in this class 3 over 1m 2f, up 6lb for a front-running victory over the CD here at Lingfield. He beat a miler that day who didn’t see it out, but Johnston’s animals are so fit they are hard to catch.
El Ghazwani might be the one to do so. He is 11101 at Lingfield over today’s trip, one of them at this level off a similar mark, and his only defeat when he was struck into.
Nonios is consistent but hard to win with, his two wins last year surrounded by nine seconds and thirds and three fourths, so often missing strike.
El Ghazwani was on the move this morning from 5.5 to 3.5. I accepted some of the 3.9 BETDAQ offers as it passed by.
NAVIGATOR CAN TAKE THE CONTROLS
4.00 Chepstow Cheekpieces had Air Navigator flying throughout the race, when he was third at Wincanton on Boxing Day. I’ll bet they work again. At 4.9 on BETDAQ.
He’s up in trip today but drops in grade, the day after another dramatic success for the horse that beat him in the Christmas race, Worthy Farm, which is probably why Air Navigator was all the rage for this last night, despite his giving weight all round.
Bob Ford actually has a higher rating but the weight is offset by a claimer, and at 13
he has had just one success in his last 15 starts.
Bill And Barn is 0-6 and has failed to step out of novice class. Ditto for Shaughnessy, who has been beaten a total of 36 lengths in his last two starts.
Venetia Williams’ horses do particularly well on the soft but Top And Drop hasn’t read the script: she has won only on good to soft ground and her form on heavy is 00434.
Cavok, an Irish Point winner, is very lightly raced (perhaps too much so, as if there’s a problem), finally scoring in heavy ground on the last day. She still has it to prove off 7lb more, having failed to put two runs together before and with long gaps separating most of her races.
RED BOND GIVEN LICENCE TO THRILL
5.45 Newcastle First time on the free-going First Response, James Sullivan settled him well and got a response! Swept home, running straight to the line, in the final furlong over the CD here at Newcastle two weeks back (Vive La Difference behind).
Paparazzi, second that day, is 3lb better off but the handicapper otherwise won’t relent in his punishment for a CD win a year or so ago.
Similarly, First Response and Red Bond were separated by only half a length when second and third at Wolverhampton over Christmas.
They have been brought together by the handicapper and, as a four-year-old, Red Bond should have improved, but how will he perform on Tapeta?
First Response’s trainer, Linda Stubbs, is looking for a hat-trick today, whereas Brian Ellison is struggling (1-12), sending out Little Jo after three defeats in a row here at Newcastle, returning from almost a year off.
Silver Dust could improve for cheekpieces but I finally settled on Red Bond (BETDAQ 5.9). He is a front-runner who stays 1m 1f (won at Chelmsford) and could open up a lead from stall 4 before they cross over to the other rail. Could be a thriller as they surge at him in the final furlong.
DAQMAN’S BETS
3.15 Lingfield (win 20)
BET 6.8pts win (nap) EL GHAZWANI
4.00 Chepstow (win 20)
BET 5pts win AIR NAVIGATOR
5.45 Newcastle (win 20)
BET 4pts win RED BOND
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