BANKER AMONG HAT-TRICK OF WINNERS: You’d rather be with Daqman! That was certainly true yesterday, when he scored a hat-trick of winners: a 20-point banker nap (Rather Be) plus two BETDAQ gambles from nearly double the SP:
WON 9-2 Rockspirit (from 9.4 BETDAQ)
WON 7-2 Naggers (from 7.6 BETDAQ)
WON 1-2 Rather Be (20-point banker)
DAQMAN’S BIG HANDICAP DARE: With money in his BETDAQ wallet, Daqman dares bet to win 30 points each on eight bets this afternoon on a day of top two-year-old tests and tough handicaps at Newmarket and York. He takes on Pricewise in the 1.35 and 3.45 Newmarket, and the 2.20 and 3.25 York, with the scores Daqman 74, Pricewise 33.
HAVE COURAGE IN THE CORNWALLIS
1.35 Newmarket (Cornwallis Stakes): Afandem had Prince Of Lir and Yalta behind when fourth in the Group-2 Flying Childers at Doncaster, but neither does much for the form before or after that race.
Mrs Danvers and Clem Fandango – first and third at Newbury in July – have won only Listed races, but Mrs Danvers keeps on winning; more than £150,000, in fact, which is going some for one that didn’t make her £1,000 reserve as a yearling.
All three may yield to the experienced Courage Under Fire, who won from the front at Naas, and also led when runner-up to Caravaggio (6f) at The Curragh. Dropped back to 5f, he will be hard to catch. The 8.0 on BETDAQ early mouse was big.
2.05 Newmarket (Oh So Sharp Stakes): The last seven winners of this had all scored on the last day, the first of several pointers to Double Lady, 4.0 with 8.2 bar in the BETDAQ orange as I write.
She got off the mark at Maisons after running up to Toulifaut, who went on to take a Group 3 at Chantilly. The only time her stable came to take this was with Miss France, who went on to be 1,000 Guineas winner of 2014.
One collateral line is that Urban Fox stopped Unforgetable Filly here at Newmarket recently but was earlier behind Grecian Light on the July Course (Group 3).
A stronger race (Group 2) saw Miss Infinity finish a length up on Glitter Girl when third in the Rockfel over today’s Newmarket CD.
Poet’s Vanity, an 8.8 offer this morning, was put straight into good company, chasing Prix Marcel Boussac (Group 1) winner Wuheida and Spatial (easily beat Unforgetable Filly on the July Course).
At Salisbury only six days later, she traveled like a dream in cruise control; then dropped down a gear before asserting powerfully again to go clear.
CHALLENGE VOTE GOES TO PANKHURST
2.40 Newmarket (Challenge Stakes) It’s 5-5 between three-year-olds and older horses in the decade, with four-year-olds currently in control.
The 7f specialists (three or more wins at the trip) are recent winner Certificate (too recent?); Group-1 winner in Italy, Jallotta; relentless galloper Opal Tiara; firm-ground-lover Richard Pankhurst and So Beloved (behind Certificate at Redcar), with Richard Pankhurst and Cougar Mountain the only Group-2 winners.
Such success brings a 3lb penalty, and only Strong Suit (2011) and Here Comes When (2014) have managed to win with one in the 10 years.
But Richard Pankhurst has already finished in front of Cougar Mountain and Jallotta, and Cougar Mountain has already given weight to Gifted Master.
I’d say that Richard Pankhurst is more than worth the 8.0 to bounce back for John Gosden, who has his team flying high right now (four out of six Tuesday-Wednesday).
3.10 Newmarket (Fillies Mile) Aidan O’Brien intends to land the bouquet again with a hat-trick in the race via either Hydrangea or Rhododendron.
Last year’s winner, Minding, had already won the Moyglare, in which Hydrangea went down a short-head to Intricately this time around, a form reversal after Rhododendron had beaten them both in August, when Hydrangea was second and Intricately third.
When they are ‘all of a heap’ like this, you tend to look for something more lightly raced to come on and beat them.
When Sobetsu cruised home 10 lengths on the last day, she gave a big hint for the New Approach filly Spatial, who’d beaten her into third at Newmarket.
Sobetsu ran green at Newmarket and seems to have leapt forward but 5.5 offer Spatial could get a further boost when the runner-up, Unforgetable Filly, reappears in the Oh So Sharp Stakes (2.05).
3.45 Newmarket There might be an edge here in the low draw; otherwise, a pin would help, though I’ll try to apply some less-reliable (!) logic.
We can probably knock out those exposed horses who’ve won only their maiden (Beaverbrook, Fleeting Visit and Lord Yeats, though Kaatskill Nap among them seems to have improved for gelding).
We can’t have the added guesswork of whether the horse can translate AW form to turf (Banish, Sir Valentine).
And we are decidedly against the top half of the draw: Manjaam, Scarlet Dragon, Southdown lad, Sixties Groove, Fleeting Visit.
We’re still left with eight or nine to choose from, though New Caledonia and Danehill Kodiac seem to have the form drop on Real Dominion and Gawdawpalin but not on New Caledonia.
Steel Of Madrid is down from the Pattern but probably has too much weight, and I prefer Saunter (Jim Crowley) to Kaatskill Nap of David Menusier’s pair, and I’m hoping Cosmeapolitan stays hidden so I can lump on him in juvenile hurdles.
I ended up taking early positions on Saunter (8.4 offers on BETDAQ), thinking there’d be money for Jim Crowley; and New Caledonia (9.6), thinking the Pricewise lemmings would close him down a bit.
BE QUICK TO GRAB THESE 20.0 OFFERS
2.20 York Three more tough handicaps! There’s still room for horses aged four and five to improve in this mile; and we need a stable in form.
Add a third edge, a low draw, and you end up with the forecast favourites, Big Time and Claim the Roses.
But Big Time has hardened and is clear in the orange at 5.9 (11.0 bar), while Claim the Roses is a lonely dog on a raft, drifted over my betting weir to 15.5.
I ended up with a bit of guesswork at a price: that first-time blinkers might just lift the consistent Jacbequick; they’ll certainly help to get him out of the traps on time: 20.0 offers.
3.25 York Yangtze is on a hat-trick if you delete his AW start. The one he beat at Sandown, Blakeney Point, has scored twice since. Cape Cova, drawn alongside him in the low numbers, is unexposed at the trip.
3.55 York Older sprinters rarely do well at York; it’s not so much a dash, more a grueling lung-buster that has to be seen out to the bitter end. So no winners over the age of six in the decade.
The race is likely to be run in the diamond formation down the centre, with horses drawn on the flanks – lowest four and highest four stalls -with the best chance of swooping late.
It begs the question: can Love On The Rocks last out from the front? He’s certainly weighted for revenge on East Street Revue, on their running over the York CD in August. The 11.5 taken gives a great chance of a trade.
Robot Boy (12.0 at the time of riting) drops down a grade for the first time in 22 starts since June 2014.and is nearly a stone lower than a year ago. Fast ground is in his favour.
DAQMAN BETS (each staked to win 30 points)
1.35 Newmarket
BET 4.3pts win and place COURAGE UNDER FIRE
2.05 Newmarket
BET 10pts win DOUBLE LADY, and 3.8pts win POET’S VANITY (2.05 Newmarket)
2.20 York
BET 6pts win BIG TIME, and 1.5pts win and place JACBEQUICK
2.40 Newmarket
BET 4.2pts win and place RICHARD PANKHURST
3.10 Newmarket
BET 6.6pts win (nap) SPATIAL
3.25 York
BET 4pts win on each CAPE COVA and YANGTZE
3.45 Newmarket
BET 4pts win SAUNTER and 3.4pts win NEW CALEDONIA
3.55 York
BET 2.8pts win on each LOVE ON THE ROCKS and ROBOT BOY
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