NOW NICHOLLS PLAYS THE END GAME: Exhausted punters finally see an end to a four-day Christmas feast of racing with the Challow Hurdle card at Newbury today providing drama for Paul Nicholls, after Ireland’s star stables of Gordon Eliott and Willie Mullins produced no fewer than 22 winners in three days.
ON THRESHOLD OF SUCCESS
⭕ 1.50 Newbury (Mandarin Chase) Team Tizzard has won this race before (Copperhead 2019) and Rivers Corner has been consistent, if not quite doing the job: beaten favourite twice when placed at Newbury and Sandown.
But Kings Threshold gave 10lb and a beating to Rivers Corner here at Newbury in the Spring on good ground over shorter. Kept on well back on the course a month ago. BETDAQ 3.7 taken.
Nicky Henderson has always been keen on Ideal Des Bordes: after more than a year off, he reappeared in blinkers at Sandown early this month: still not fluent but gets up to a stone and a half from everything else in the race. BETDAQ 12.0. Offers quoted at 10am
MURPHY STAR IS RISING
⭕ 2.22 Newbury Olly Murphy landed a hat-trick on Boxing Day at Aintree, Kempton and Wetherby, and made it four for Christmas when Sean Bowen rode a novice home at Leicester yesterday.
His grey Scorpio Rising could now score a treble in his own right under Bowen, after strikes at Perth and Lingfield in the autumn. BETDAQ 5.6.
But I’m marking up Andashan’s second at Haydock, though a respectful 12 lengths off the winner, since that winner, Kabral Du Mathan, was the neck runner-up in the Scottish Champion Hurdle.
Doctor’s Hill is getting weight from my picks but his Chepstow win was slow by nearly half a minute and the runner-up was a 23-lengths third in a maiden three weeks later.
NO DRAMA FOR NICHOLLS
⭕ 3.00 Newbury (Challow Hurdle) Champ (Henderson), Bravemansgame (Nicholls) and The New Lion (Skelton) are recent winners of this for three top stables.
The grey No Drama This End (Nicholls) will hopefully give my Hot Spots their third winner in this holiday period.
There’s been no drama about his Grade-2 autumn double, with impressive defeats of Heads Up at Cheltenham and Blue Room at Sandown Park, earning a 143 rating.
Etna Bianco traveled well at Ascot and his jumping was slick. Kalkbrenner and Klimt Madrik were one-two, well clear here at Newbury a month ago.
But the front of the market wins this: 8-10 favourites have scored and there’s been no SP bigger than 100-30 in the decade.
ELLIOTT’S BRIGHTER DAYS
⭕ 1.22 and ⭕ 2.32 Leopardstown The Aintree Hurdle mares’ one-two of last Spring – Willie Mullins’ Lossiemouth over Gordon Elliott’s Wodhooh – go their separate ways today, with Wodhooh red hot for the mares’ (1.22) and Lossiemouth odds on for the open December Hurdle (2.32).
But we’ve had a long holiday weekend with the form upended, as Elliott has mauled Mullins with 13 winners to nine.
Brighterdaysahead might be mare of the day, as runaway 30-lengths winner of this December Hurdle last year, sure to be tip-top for the Elliott yard, neck-and-neck on 159 rated with the Mullins favourite, who has made her mark over further. BETDAQ 3.25.
DAQMAN’S BETS
on Betdaq Betting Exchange
1.50 Newbury (win 20 each)
BET 7.5pts win KINGS THRESHOLD
BET 1.75pts win IDEAL DES BORDES
2.22 Newbury (win 23 each)
BET 5pts win SCORPIO RISING
BET 4.3pts win ANDASHAN
2.32 Leopardstown (win 20)
BET 8pts win BRIGHTERDAYSAHEAD
★★ 3.00 Newbury (supernap)
BET 20pts win NO DRAMA THIS END
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