BIG NAMES WIN WETHERBY CHASE: Today Daqman relies on top trainers Paul Nicholls (Jumps) and Ralph Beckett (Flat) to get him over the line, and the race to watch is the 1.45 Wetherby which throws up top chasers.
SATURDAY PREVIEW: Make an early start to the search for Saturday value
SATURDAY BIG-RACE PREVIEW
⚠️ HEADS UP: Daqman checks out the four big races tomorrow, Jumps and Flat, across the cards at Ascot, Newmarket and Wetherby.
⭕ 3.00 Wetherby, tomorrow (West Yorkshire Hurdle) The one-two that held Paisley Park into third last year, Indefatigable and Proschema, meet again with Proschema (Dan Skelton) 6lb better off for two-and-a-half lengths.
⭕ 3.15 Ascot, tomorrow (London Gold Cup) This 3m chase has gone three times in six seasons to Gary Moore, who could line up Full Back to defend the CV, if he gets enough rain.
Full Back, who scored at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day (3m 2f) on the soft, could face the Scottish Grand National third, Major Dundee (Alan King).
Nigel Twiston-Davies swerves the Grade-2 Charlie Hall Chase for this Class 1 with Good Boy Bobby, who is marginally top-weight in this one but would have been bottom-rated in the non-handicap at Wetherby.
⭕ 3.35 Wetherby, tomorrow (Charlie Hall Chase) Winners in the decade include Silviniaco Contio (2012) and Cyrname (2020) for Paul Nicholls, who is looking for a winning seasonal debut from Bravemansgame?
Bravemansgame, who landed four novice-chases in a row starting last autumn, will be looking for revenge on Ahoy Senor (Lucina Russell), winner of the Mildmay at the Aintree Grand National meeting when Braveman’s five-timer bid at 11-8 favourite inexplicably flopped.
Nigel Twiston-Davies (Bristol De Mai 2017) swerves the race with Good Boy Bobby, 13lb behind in the ratings and not yet up to this level. See above.
But Team Tizzard (Cue Card 2016) will challenge with Eldorado Allen, Grade-2 winner three times including the Denman Chase at Newbury in February.
⭕ 4.33 Newmarket, tomorrow (James Seymour Stakes) Won in the last three years by Lord North (subsequent Royal Ascot scorer) and Bay Bridge, winner of the Champion Stakes recently.
Is it Nobel’s prize? A Lope De Vega colt, out of a Sea The Stars half-sister to High Chaparral, Nobel is unbeaten in two starts for Andrew Balding.
TODAY: BECKETT DIAMOND FILLY
⭕ 2.40 Newmarket, today (Bosra Sham Fillies Stakes) Named after Henry Cecil’s 1,000 Guineas winner (1996), Bosra Sham, who had bad feet, with plastic shoes specially made for her; but most of her races were a shoo-in!
Unfortunately, she was trapped on the rails in the 1997 Eclipse, odds-on third after what her jockey, Kieren Fallon, described as ‘my Bosra Shambles.’
On the ratings for the race today, Lowther Stakes third, Matilda Picotte, has a couple of pounds in hand on Believing.
But Simon Crisford (All The Time), Richard Fahey (Marine Wave) and Richard Hannon (Immortal Beauty) have all won the race before, and an outright favourite has scored only once since 2014 (odds-on in a small field).
Stalls 1, 2, 3, 5 have won six out of 10, and I understand that Diamond Vega (out of 2) is the autumn filly exciting work-watchers at home, after scoring on Haydock heavy two weeks back in a sudden step forward.
Diamond Vega is one the fillies here with fewer than five runs and therefore, unexposed; but that hasn’t worked out in the last four seasons when the winners had at least five previous starts.
The difference today is that only Diamond Vega has won a race on officially ‘soft’ ground, and she looks a decent price for a Beckett filly.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 5.0 Diamond Vega
RAIN MAKES IT EASIER FOR REIGN
⭕ 3.15 Newmarket At this time last year Oh Herberts Reign landed three wins out of four, doing particularly well with cut in the ground.
He’s back to that mark now after spending most of the summer on firm ground. The change of going and a gelding op has him getting nearly two stone from Dual Identity, who is the ‘obvious bet.’
Dual Identity was unlucky in the Cambridgeshire when ‘winning’ the race on the wrong side. Third, drawn 6, with the one-two coming out of 26 and 19 and with those immediately behind coming out of 17, 13 and 25.
BETDAQ value 2.65 Dual identity, 12 Oh Herberts Reign
FLIC WELL FANCIED TO FOLLOW UP
⭕ 1.45 Wetherby Paul Nicholls launches Gelino Bello on hs chase campaign today, first run back from his break after winning the Sefton Novices Hurdle at Aintree, previously won by Thistlecrack, Champ and Ahoy Senor.
Gelino Bello’s owner lives near Wetherby and he should get a winner, though not a price! Nicholls can complete a double in the 3.30.
⭕ 3.30 Wetherby In an age of petulant politicians and ‘care-less’ civil servants, I’m sure all three of the racing authorities, the track and the sponsors will chorus ‘not our fault’.
I’m talking about this handicap chase at Wetherby named after Each-Way Betting which doesn’t even have the straight-eight number of runners to fully satisfy the principles of.. erm, each-way betting.
Good Boy Bobby (see preview stories above) won it last year, making five winners in a row in this race carrying 11st or less.
Into Overdrive is set 10st 9lb today, even though he notched up a hat-trick worth a 20lb rise in the ratings in the Spring. Snag is he hasn’t won first run back before.
Coconut Splash has never been out of the frame, still standing, but equally has never won a chase.
Fergal O’Brien is in form and Dublin Four won first run for the yard about a year ago, but has not been easy to place since and is back from 168 days’ holiday.
Schiehallion Munro is beautiful; see it if you’ve never been: the eponymous gelding landed back-to-back Wetherby wins in the autumn last year.
But, unless the rain comes down in stair-rods, Flic Ou Voyou is on a mission to bag more early prizes to add to his Chepstow pot.
He was there to prove that he’s ironed out his jumping problems and he’s here to cash in on a notable victory that day.
BETDAQ value 4.0 Flic Ou Voyou
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.40 Newmarket (win 20, nap)
BET 5pts win DIAMOND VEGA
3.15 Newmarket (win 12, win 8)
BET 1pt win OH HERBERTS REIGN
BET 4.75pts win DUAL IDENTITY
3.30 Wetherby (win 12)
BET 4pts win FLIC OU VOYOU
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