2-1 WIN FOR BACK-TO-BACK BANKERS: After 19 successful naps gave him five winning weeks in a row to start the year, Daqman’s best bets dipped until a revival with his banker up on Wednesday and then yesterday Watersmeet (WON 2-1), also maximum stakes, did exactly as he forecast, making all the running.
WON 8-13 Bandon Roc (Wednesday banker nap)
WON 2-1 Watersmeet (Thursday banker nap)
SHORT-ODDS TREBLE: Watersmeet was middle leg of a winning treble at around 9-2 after non-runners depressed SPs: Saphir Du Rheu (WON 1-7), Watersmeet (WON 2-1) and Song Saa (WON 6-4).
‘CHELTENHAM CAVALRY’: Daqman’s ‘Cheltenham Cavalry’ is enhanced today by two horses that have spent the winter winning on the course as they plot their way to the festival.
TOP TWO IN CHELTENHAM PLOTS
Cheltenham Cavalry – Day 3. The Triumph Hurdle, Albert Bartlett, JLT and Champion Chase. There are now 10 horses to follow logged in the list, and two of them have been backed ante-post on BETDAQ: Ballyandy and Brain Power.
DEFI DU SEUIL
Triumph Hurdle hope, unbeaten in his last six starts, three of them at Cheltenham. He and Wholestone have had more practice around the course than a local professional golfer round his own club tees. One or both should respond to this big advantage of having scored three times each at Prestbury Park.
DEATH DUTY
Looks ahead of the recent trial winner, Bacardys, on a line through Blood Crazed Tiger but the one that’s impressed me for the Albert Bartlett is Wholestone, after four months of practice at the championship venue.
WHOLESTONE
Nigel Twiston-Davies has made this one a Cheltenham horse already. He’s run four times there (three wins) from 2m 4f to 3m on good ground and soft, and I reckon Daryl Jacob now knows exactly when to press the buttons
DISKO
On a line through Gangster, Sunday’s Leopardstown winner still has ground to make up on Yorkhill and, though the Press were hyping Disko after his weekend win, he has kept his distance from Yorkhill in the JLT market.
YORKHILL
So I’m standing by Yorkhill – one of my original Fortune Cookies – even though he wasn’t fluent when he made it nine wins from 10 starts at Leopardstown late on in January.
He beat Yanworth when he won the Neptune at the last Cheltenham Festival and his only defeat came in the Punchestown Champion Novice when he’d had enough for the season. Even so, the horses in front of him were ’monster’ improvers (Brain Power and Petit Mouchoir).
DOUVAN
I can’t win with Douvan! If he’s in my list, I’ll get: ‘what is he in the list for at that price?’ I can only say this of the 14 times consecutive winner that, if he wasn’t in the list, the cry would be the reverse: why isn’t Douvan there in the year he becomes a champion of champions?
* Already given the big tick: Altior, Ballyandy, Blaklion, Brain Power, Movewiththetimes, William H Bonney (see Tuesday and Thursday Daqman Archive). More next week.
ESHER GLORY FOR HOT HENDERSON
It’s been a quiet week for Nicky Henderson so far but he’s back in force at both Sandown and Fakenham today.
He’s just had the six runners since Altior’s impressive big race win last weekend at Newbury but his form figures are: 102112
It remains soft (heavy in places) at Sandown but a drying morning could see conditions improve.
2.10 Sandown Henderson’s Pougne Bobbi looks hard to beat in the second race on the card. He has a penalty to defy after an easy win at Ludlow but won with such authority he could easily follow up over today’s shorter trip.
Last year’s winner Fairy Rath looks out of sorts and it might well prove that Dream Bolt is the biggest danger. He was bidding for a four-timer when second over course and distance earlier this month but might just be in the grip of the handicapper now.
2.40 Sandown (Grade 2 hurdle) Henderson runs Theatre Territory here who was long odds-on when falling two out at Newbury last time out. She looked the likely winner that day and the mistake hopefully was just a one-off blunder as usually she jumps well.
The percentage call though has to be Colin’s Sister who proved herself at Listed level at Haydock last time out when an impressive winner of a mares’ novices hurdle where she beat My Khaleesi by six lengths. That one went on to win (narrowly) herself at Fontwell next time out.
3.15 Sandown (Royal Artillery Gold Cup) Just seven runners contest this and bets have to be tempered with the experience factor of the jockeys.
However, I can back the two experienced riders to place at decent odds and even allowing for the fact that there are only two places up for grabs a bet on both Cody Wyoming (Jody Sole) and Irish Thistle (Brodie Hampson) could reap rewards.
The pair have won the last two runnings of this historic race and I can get around 4.3 and 8.0 on them to place on BETDAQ – one in the frame secures a nice profit.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked 1 to 9 for strength; 10 would be a banker)
BET 9pts win (nap) POUGNE BOBBI (2.10 Sandown)
BET 8pts win COLIN’S SISTER (2.40 Sandown)
BET 4pts place CODY WYOMING (3.15 Sandown)
BET 4pts place IRISH THISTLE (3.15 Sandown)
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