DAQMAN WINS FOURTH CLASSIC AS ST MARK’S IS OUT ON HIS OWN: St Mark’s Basilica, top spot in Daqman’s 1-2-3 for the French Derby yesterday, accelerated so quickly along the rail that he was out of shot when he crossed the line! Daqman has now been five times placed in a Classic this season, four of them winners, plus one losing favourite laid.
WON 16-1 POETIC FLARE 2,000 Guineas: bull’s-eye bet.
WON 10-1 MOTHER EARTH 1,000 Guineas
WON (Lays Logic) SANTA BARBARA 1,000 Guineas; unplaced 5-2
WON 14-1 EMPRESS JOSEPHINE Irish 1,000 Guineas from BETDAQ 28.0.
3RD 20-1 DIVINELY Epsom Oaks
WON 14-5 ST MARK’S BASILICA French Derby
THE NAP EARNS HIS PLACE IN THE PLATE: Daqman went nap on East Asia at Goodwood, giving him two big winners on the day, warning that the horse must win to get a place in his target race, the Northumberland Plate.
WON 7-4 EAST ASIA (nap)
WON 14-5 ST MARK’S BASILICA
WARNING: IT’S NEVER THAT EASY
Easy winners are hardly ever horses to follow. Take Serpentine in last year’s Derby; he ran them ragged, or so it seemed.
But the form of Serpentine since the race has been: 440. Form of the runner-up: 0. Third horse: 214 (he won, then? yes, a maiden!)
Be warned that the Oaks on Friday when Snowfall careered away by 16 lengths from a 50-1 shot, was run on the soft in slow time and the Derby victory of Adayar was also achieved on a tricky surface, also from a 50-1 shot in second, a maiden.
There was a total of almost eight lengths between winner and third, Hurricane Lane. Once the winner had ‘gone,’ it was impossible to make up the leeway on the ground.
Now we have a Prix du Jockey Club winner, St Mark’s Basilica, galloping so far clear on the far rail that he finished out of shot of the French cameraman. He was concentrating on the home horses nearer the centre of the track and missed the winner crossing the line!
I was happy with Al Aasy in the Coronation Cup, first Fortune Cookie of the season. He kept on straight as a die when Pyledriver worried him out of it on the rail.
That was a fearless ride by Martin Dwyer, but no more so than Saturday’s paint-scraping rails run by Adam Kirby on Adayar. The sport was there.. but the form?
Which of the big three, Snowfall, Adayar and St Mark’s Basilica have earned a place in the Fortune Cookies. You make your decision; I will present a revised Fortune Cookies list tomorrow.
As I say, when they are ‘easy’ winners, it’s a warning. And when they are ALL easy winners..?
YAGAN CAN SCORE PAST THE KEEPER
⭕ 1.45 Lingfield Has Sir Mark Prescott got it right? Famous for sequence horses, he has Yagan going for his hat-trick. But he had three choices of engagement this week.
Yagan has won twice on turf – at Yarmouth and Bath – but Sir Mark has plumped for the All Weather at Lingfield, one of three winter tracks used in four prep races late last year.
He failed to reach the frame in any one of the four but they were at around a mile and it was stepping up to stamina-testing middle distances and more that has landed him a double.
The danger appears to be Keeper, with Roger Charlton playing a similar game; down the field in three races over shorter, Keeper now attempts his first handicap over further.
RECOLLECTION OF A ROYAL RUNNER
⭕ 2.00 Leicester Mohaafeth is strongly fancied for the King Edward V11 (‘Ascot Derby’) Stakes at the royal meeting, after a 26lb hike for a Spring hat-trick, a win a month in March, April and May.
An excellent third in the middle leg at Newmarket was No Recollection, who went on to land a gamble at Salisbury. That gives him top rating here but it’s a tough little collection of handicappers.
Oz Legend was fourth in the London Gold Cup. Thunder Sun looks progressive but the winner when he was third at Windsor let the form down at Epsom.
Oz Legend and Surefire were separated by a short head at Windsor when making up the places behind a subsequent class-3 winner.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE value 7.6 No Recollection
SALUTE THE TRAINER IN THIS RACE
⭕ 7.15 Pontefract Paul Midgley farms this race. Successful in 2010 and 2013, he now goes for a hat-trick after scoring back to back in 2018-19.
But you’ll have to bet on two to corner his plan for this 5f sprint: both Saluti and Ventura Express are CD winners, split across the track in extremes of the draw, Ventura in the one stall and Saluti out of 9.
Ventura Express won at Ponty first run for Midgley in April after being switched from Richard Fahey. It was firm ground that day, which was the case here last night but showers were forecast.
Saluti has Pontefract form figures of 231, finally getting his head in front under today’s jockey Graham Lee last August.
He won a grade higher than today over the tough 5f at Beverley but has dropped 8lb since and is back in class 5.
BETDAQ value 4.4 Ventura Express, 5.9 Saluti
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.45 Lingfield (supernap)
BET 20pts win YAGAN
2.00 Leicester (win 20)
BET 3pts win NO RECOLLECTION
7.15 Pontefract (each to win 10)
BET 3pts win VENTURA EXPRESS
BET 2pts win SALUTI
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
