NAP SCORES 8 DAYS OUT OF 11: Shahbar (WON 4-7) yesterday landed Daqman’s second winning banker this week, following Imtiyaaz (WON 6-4) on Monday. Shahbar was Daqman’s eighth winning nap in 11 days.
16.0 SHOTS TO BITE THE BULLET: There’s a trainer who has had three winners out of four in the Brighton Bullet. Daqman backs his two runners at 16.0 on BETDAQ this morning, but his stable of the day – for banker and Musselburgh bet – is Mark Johnston’s.
GOAL HUNGRY TOMORROW! As the Saturday soccer season kicks off tomorrow, Daqman will be trying to put more long-shots past Pricewise of the Racing Post in their value challenge, with the current scores Daqman 73, Pricewise 11. Back of the net!
THE WIND BLOWS HARRIS’S WAY AGAIN
3.50 Brighton Bullet After the Mile (got that) and the Challenge (fluffed that), the hardest one of the week, the Bullet, with the stats shot through.
Only one horse older than four has won it, but there ain’t no young horses this time around. It’s 3-3 between winning and losing favourites. No help there, then.
Trainer Ronald Harris farms the race, with figures of 1110 since its inception in 2008 and, for two of those three wins, ran two in the race, as he does today. Thanks, Ron.
Stalls 7 and 8 have won two each but, then, so has stall 1. So where on earth can we find an edge?
How about a trainer in form? I was ready to write up Tony Carroll, with five winners out of seven on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But we had to wait a very long time for any Carroll singing yesterday, when he finally ended up with one success from 10 starters, albeit finishing with a narrow profit after Supa Seeker scored at 11-1.
So let’s rely on a course winner? Tricky one: only Agerzam, Dangerous Age and Heartsong have failed to score at Brighton and, since only Heartsong has raced there (and she was beaten just a short-head), it’s hardly conclusive material.
I saw an article the other day saying that this is the age of the apprentice, particularly in sprints when a 3lb difference can mean a length in races which are often blanket finishes.
Seven of the nine trainers in the Bullet may also have read it: they all have claimers in the saddle here.
In the end, I picked my claimer (Cam Hardie on Powerful Wind) and I raked the form for a horse that had won already off its rating today. Same answer: Powerful Wind, which takes us back to the beginning and Ron Harris.
Both Harris runners, Powerful Wind and Agerzam (visored first time), were 16.0 on BETDAQ this morning.
OPPOSE A THREE-YEAR-OLD? YORKIDDING
4.00 Musselburgh I view every Classic generation with the same principle as the Tory doctrine: if there’s wealth at the top, it will filter down to the rest.
That particular cup of political coffee can take a long time to filter, if at all, and can leave distasteful grounds but – in a year of golden wonders among three year olds – second season racehorses (creatures far more elegant than politicians) seem to have been cleaning up, whether top or bottom of the class structure.
Opposing Hernandoshideaway (3-8-13) on Wednesday required my selection, Penhill, to run to his best. They finished one-two, but with the three-year-old winning a length and a half.
Yesterday, I opposed Mark Johnston’s Mister Rockandroll (3-8-6) in the Brighton Challenge Cup, a miserable favourite indeed, after his run of 10 consecutive defeats this season, not improving an ounce. He won.
The filter, from Golden Horn and Gleneagles down, seems to be working well. And here we are today with another Mark Johnston, another well exposed but, like the two others, getting bags of weight in allowances: Yorkidding (3-8-0).
There’s a second three-year-old in the race, Future Empire (3-9-1), dropped from the Pattern. In fact, he has raced in four Group 3 (second in the Epsom Derby Trial) and a Listed, in six starts since taking his maiden at the first time of asking.
The difference between classy Future Empire and journeyman Yorkidding is the little matter of 15lb, the price Future Empire has to pay for those Pattern exertions. It could prove expensive.
MONTSARRAT TO BEAT THE HANDICAPPER
5.45 Newmarket Whatever happens to Yorkidding, Mark Johnston should keep the bankers on track with Montsarrat.
Montsarrat, due to go up 8lb from tomorrow, just failed to complete a hat-trick, after wins at Salisbury and Catterick, when the ‘moral’ at Goodwood, runner-up giving a lump of weight to the winner in a big-field nursery.
You would expect Maccus to be a danger, dropping back from the Pattern, but he was any price this morning
9.0 ACCLAIM WILL DO FOR STARTERS..
8.25 Newmarket Back to form, with four winners in four days is Richard Fahey, who has more runners than Mark Johnston these days: between them Fahey (22) and Johnston (18) have 40 Friday-Saturday entries as I write.
Steve Prescott (3-8-12) for Fahey is the only three-year-old in this Musselburgh sprint. He’s dropped in grade after running seven of his nine races in class 2 since a novice.
But he hasn’t won a race since his maiden more than 13 months ago – often a bad sign – so, continuing my political theme of the day, you could get a poke in the nose from this Prescott, although he’s got far more worthwhile form than had Mister Rockandroll yesterday.
Meshardal is making a painfully slow descent of the handicap after his 11lb punishment for a Spring hat-trick.
Secretinthepark is in similar straits for decent efforts in big handicaps. Picture Dealer hasn’t won on turf for two years.
Highland Acclaim has spoiled his record by starting slowly in recent races, but has dropped 8lb this season, and 9.0 was a very big offer in the BETDAQ orange this morning.
It allows for the ‘slow away’ risk and, with Steve Prescott 6.0, I could dutch and have two running for me.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points)
BET 1pt win and place on each AGERZAM and POWERFUL WIND (3.50 Brighton)
BET 5.5pts win YORKIDDING and 3.5pts win (stakes saver) FUTURE EMPIRE (4.00 Musselburgh)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) MONTSARRAT (5.45 Newmarket)
BET 4pts win STEVE PRESCOTT and 2.5pts win HIGHLAND ACCLAIM (8.25 Newmarket)
NEW !!!
You can now follow BETDAQ updates on Google+
For further details – CLICK HERE
£20 FREE BET
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
