BRITISH CHAMPIONS DAY COUNTDOWN: Is Baaeed the king? Daqman traces a web of collateral form linking the big names in two championship races at Ascot on Saturday. Who will you be cheering on from Adayar, Baaeed, Erevann, Inspiral, Modern Games, The Revenant and Vadeni?
STAR WINNER AT 100-30: Our winner-a-day tipster, who landed his supernap on Saturday, found another star yesterday, Spanish Star (WON 100-30). Daqman today keeps the stakes low but hopefully the profits high as he spots a WIN 20 opportunity later at Wolverhampton.
WHO’S CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS DAY?
⭕ 3.20 Ascot, Saturday (British Champions Mile) Baaeed and Inspiral could both have met in this Mile but are now being backed as unbeatable bankers in separate races on Champions Day. Can one or both of them be beaten?
Frankie Dettori had his first big day back in the limelight for Team Gosden after his infamous ‘sabbatical’ from the yard when he won the million-euro Group-1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville in August.
Inspiral, starting at 9-5 against, had flopped under Dettori at 1-7 in July trying to follow up a sensational Coronation Stakes success at Royal Ascot.
It looked like an uneven battle – the filly against the Classic-winning colt – for her comeback at Deauville but the favourite, 2,000 Guineas winner Coroebus, got a slow start from the widest draw and finished five-lengths fifth.
Now Charlie Appleby switches his attack on Inspiral to Modern Games, who got within a couple of lengths of Baaeed in the Sussex Stakes.
Modern Games, French 2,000 Guineas winner and third to Vadeni in the Chantilly Derby, won his third Group 1 in the Woodbine Mile a month back, adding £350k to his pile, which is now approaching £1.5m
It’s probably the nearest we’ll get to a showdown – though only on paper – between Baaeed and Inspiral through collateral form on Saturday. Can Inspiral (receiving 3lb) hold Modern Games by as much or further than did Baaeed?
Shuffle the pack and you may also find Erevann comes over and meets Inspiral a pound better than when he was beaten only half a length in that Deauville race.
On the first of this month, on very soft ground at Longchamp, Erevann cosily won the Group-2 Daniel Wildenstein, receiving 3lb from 2020 winner The Revenant (not clear run, finished second).
The Revenant won this Champions Mile in 2020 but was only fourth last year to Baaeed, who now steps up two furlongs to the Champion Stakes, when Vadeni could be among his rivals, along with 2021 Derby and King George winner, Adayar.
Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes (Champions Mile): BETDAQ 1.82 Inspiral, 4.5 The Revenant, 6 Erevann, 8 Modern Games. NR: Maljoom.
Champion Stakes: BETDAQ 1.25 Baaeed, 4.5 Adayar, 9 Vadeni
Current ratings: 128 Baaeed, 127 Adayar, 123 Vadeni, 122 Modern Games, 121 Inspiral, 119 Erevann, 118 The Revenant.
NOTHING LIKE A DAME
⭕ 2.50 Windsor Dame Ethel Smyth, trained by John & Thady Gosden and ridden by Benoit De La Sayette. If that combination doesn’t cause typographical spacing problems for newspaper racing editors I don’t know what does.
She might also figure prominently in the results section tomorrow having improved steadily in her three starts to date, the latest of which was a head second at Yarmouth where she finished a head in front of her better fancied stable companion Wonderful Times. That looked quite a decent race by Yarmouth standards and she can make a winning start in handicap company.
SHAME TO MISS AL SHAMI
⭕ 6.30 Wolverhampton I didn’t think there was as much between Tomahawk King and Al Shami as the Betdaq Betting Exchange suggests with it quite heavily favouring the former in early morning trade.
So, on price grounds, I want to be on the other one – in the same way I’d want to be on tails at 6/4 in a coin spin so will try a WIN 20 return.
Both made pleasing debuts on the turf and are likely to improve significantly. Mick Channon’s Tomahawk King was sent off at 80/1 on debut at Salisbury but did better than those odds implied with a staying on fourth to Secret Solace last month. None of the principals from that race have been out again since so it’s hard to get much of a handle on the form.
In the case of Al Shami he kept the 2/9 favourite She’s Hot honest when finishing second to the filly at Ffos Las and was nibbled at in the market before that run despite the weight of money on the favourite who had finished second in two races prior (and one race since).
The form looks OK in the context of this modest event and the pair pulled six and a half lengths clear of the third at Ffos Las.
We’renotreallyhere and Ana Hadi both bring experience to the table but the fitting of first time head equipment to both suggests running out of ideas rather than inspiration.
GREAT SCOT!
⭕ 7.00 Wolverhampton Shin Saw Gyi can continue the good recent form of trainer George Scott – last 10 form figures of 3011272831
The three-year-old has been placed in all four of her starts but showed enough on her handicap debut at Kempton last time out to suggest she can win this off the same mark. The step up to seven furlongs also seemed to a positive.
She can see off the challenge headed by Crystal Dawn who has been shoved up 3lb for a head success at Chelmsford.
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.50 Windsor (nap, win 10)
BET 5.2pts win DAME ETHEL SMYTH
6.30 Wolverhampton (win 20)
BET 4.0pts win AL SHAMI
7.00 Wolverhampton (win 10)
BET 3.3pts win GREAT SCOT
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