SATURDAY’S MEETINGS SEEM SAFE: The Ascot Chase, the Haydock Park Grand National Trial and all the Saturday fare looks safe from the weather tomorrow. But first today’s tricky meetings tempt Daqman to tilt at the layers.
NEXT WEEK: CHELTENHAM PREVIEWS: Look out next week for Daqman’s ‘see how they won’ previews of Cheltnham.
ROSSA BATS FOR YORKSHIRE
⭕ 3.00 Southwell: I always try to find the quality field of the day and this class-2 (7f) handicap is strong on runners with form, six have won twice in their last six starts, three of them course-and-distance winners.
Doctor Khan Junior (stall 6) and Our Havana (8) are likely to be up with the pace and you’d normally expect them to be pushing for prominence from their unhelpful stalls position.
Oisin Orr gets the best out of Our Havana (he idles in front) but Oisin is otherwise engaged at Newcastle.
Doctor Khan Junior, who landed four in a row last winter for an overall 24lb rise, has been absent 342 days. He has won when fresh but his stable is quiet and he probably needs to shed a few pounds.
Royal Zabeel (stall 5) has changed stables twice. His third yard, Michael Appleby’s, suits him best, or is it the gelding op that revitalised him to two wins from three starts, including here at Southwell, around the turn of the year.
A good run here would boost Zip, who beat him at Newcastle and is one of Oisin Orr’s mounts there today (7.30 race).
Like Royal Zabeel, Yorkshire is going for a hat-trick today, nicely drawn, but after a gap in the sequence of 83 days.
However, he’s won three times before after a break and Rossa Ryan (striking at 21%) has been booked by the in-form Edward Bethell.
Interesting out of the one stall is hold-up horse Apiarist, winner twice at a mile recently.
THE GAMES PUNTERS PLAY
⭕ 5.30 Newcastle: Each oblivious it seems of the money for their rival, punter pools plunged on ‘hidden’ horses in the same race at Newcastle overnight.
Both Love Games (5.9 offers on BETDAQ at 10 am) and Kilo Sunshine (9.7) were big outsiders when books were formed, both with form figures that hardly bear research.
Love Games (00030-) is raised in trip for this AW debut; Kilo Sunshine (00-0) is also stepped up in distance after a 5f run here at Newcastle, a 50-1 shot three weeks ago.
PINS TICKS THE CLASS BOX
⭕ 7.30 Newcastle: As mentioned in the 3.00 Southwell, Royal Zabeel could boost Zip’s form; they were one-two here in November.
But Zip, 12 times a winner, running his 78th race today aged nine, is at the top of the handicap with two eight-year-olds.
If it were a three-horse race between them, you’d have to pick Juan Les Pins, who drops into this low a class for the first time since he landed a four-timer in the summer of 2022.
Juan Les Pins has run nine times out of 10 in class 2, since a Group fourth and three Listed places in 2023. His mark has plunged 19lb.
You’d think this class 4 his best chance of scoring, particularly with Michael Appleby doing well with three winners this month, and 13.0 offers on BETDAQ look big.
One-time fifth in the Coventry at Royal Ascot, Waiting All Night is another who has slumped (all-time high 100) in the ratings but won a class-2 on turf last summer within a pound of today’s 83. BETDAQ 6.1
Of course, the one they all have to beat is William Dewhirst (five wins out of six), who has seen off Barnaby, Starliner and Kings School in recent events.
Paul Mulrennan has liked to drop him in behind here and find the box seat; what he will do drawn 11 of 11 closest the near rail is contributory to this fascinating race.
DAQMAN’S BETS on Betdaq Betting Exchange
★ 3.00 Southwell (win 20 nap, win 10)
BET 5pts win YORKSHIRE
BET 5pts win ROYAL ZABEEL
5.30 Newcastle (each to win 25)
BET 5pts win LOVE GAMES
BET 3pts win KILO SUNSHINE
7.30 Newcastle (win-50 bull’s-eye bet, win 20)
BET 4pts win JUAN LES PINS
BET 4pts win WAITING ALL NIGHT
BET 3pts to win 10 WILLIAM DEWHIRST
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