8-1 TWICE PUTS DAQMAN TOP OF THE PODIUM: Daqman did it again yesterday with a truly Olympian feat of five winning bets in four races at Goodwood for a profit of 61 points, mainly from two 8-1 winners, to add to his 37 points won on Wednesday.
TWO LAYS OUT OF TWO: His lays magic was back, as promised, with two out of two, Ahern (unplaced 15-8 favourite) plus a daring Goodwood Cup place lay on Simenon (unplaced 4-1).
8-1 WIN FROM 13.0 ON BETDAQ: He opened his gold surge with Grandeur (WON 8-1), a 13.0 spot at Betdaq value in the morning.
STIRRING 8-1 FINALE: He had Saddler’s Rock as his getting-out bet in the Goodwood Cup – so had two winning bets in the race – and scored again with Stirring Ballad (WON 8-1) in the finale of the day.
14-1 TWICE ON WEDNESDAY: ON Wednesday, he named Hurricane Higgins (WON 14-1) and Sir Graham Wade (WON 14-1), following on Van Ellis (WON 8-1 from 16.0) on Saturday.
2.00 Goodwood: Luca Cumani’s Quest For Peace drops back to Group 3 for the first time since he won the Cumberland Lodge last October. Not disgraced this year in the Jockey Club Stakes and Coronation Cup, and seemingly suffering interference in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot.
Cumani hogs this race, with three winners and a third from six runners in eight years, all well backed. In fact, there have been no Glorious Stakes winners at double-figure odds (SP) in the last decade.
In my estimation, Berling, Songcraft and Dandino are no better than Listed placed this year; Midsummer Sun not even that; and Dubai Prince is up in trip.
That leaves as the danger the improver Gatewood – gone up 18lb this season – albeit also only so far up to winning a Listed and trying 1m 4f for the first time.
2.35 Goodwood: The last five winners of this race by stall – 3, 3, 6, 5, 5 – seem to reveal how hard it is to score from a high draw on this round course, and the favourite, Gregorian (in 10), is pressed in the market this morning by horses trapping 1, 2 and 3.
But Grandeur, Annie’s Fortune and Silver Lime all had high draws yesterday and Stirring Ballad came from a long way back.
Gregorian has the measure of Aljamaaheer on a line through Saigon, and that same yardstick suggests that Stipulate (twice beat Tales Of Grimm), from the in-form Sir Henry Cecil string, will be on the premises.
In fact, Stipulate led at this trip in a Group-3 at Royal Ascot and looks well suited to a surge up the final climb at Goodwood. I can see him taking over from the front-runner, Archbishop.
Our yardstick Saigon was back in another county behind the Hannon pair, Trumpet Major and Coupe De Ville, when they were fourth and fifth in the 2,000 Guineas.
So my summing up has to be the old saw, ‘this is a wide-open race’. In those circumstances, you always look for lightly-raced potential improvers: that would be from Aljamaaheer, Archbishop, Born To Surprise, Ewell Place, Tales Of Grimm and Stipulate, all with seven runs or fewer.
Common to both our pools of knowledge (or lists of desperation!) is Stipulate, and I’ll take the 8.0 this morning, with a saver on Gregorian. Trumpet Major has the disadvantage of a Group-3 penalty; such runners are 00334 in this in the last three years.
3.10 Goodwood Mile: The Mark Johnston bandwagon rolls on – his last two runners both won this (2009-10) – here saddling two three-year-olds, an age group which has shared seven of the last 10 renewals with four-year-olds.
Bannock has surely been burnt out with nine runs already this season; he’s never won beyond 6f and is drawn wide in 18. Fulbright, well drawn in eight, looks the more likely one, though is also a 6f specialist and he faded at Sandown on soft in his only race at today’s trip.
Albaqaa, fifth that day, was badly drawn and hampered behind Prince Of Johanne in the Royal Hunt Cup, when Field Of Dream, subsequent 7f scorer at Ascot, was a running-on fourth, after having to be switched.
Last year’s result by stall was 1, 6, 3, with Boom And Bust, from the Askar Tau stable, winning the race from stall 1: he has 5lb more and trap 22 this time.
He went on to my horses-to-follow list after attempting the Royal Hunt Cup from a bad draw and off a break of 327 days. Unlucky again? The 29.0 value on BETDAQ says he’s worth a pound to defy his draw.
Also very big is Prince Of Johanne at 18.5, as a come-from-behind horse with Darren Egan reducing his burden. The Prince keeps on winning the big handicaps, and punters keep on ignoring him. Give me more of those.
My third choice at too big a price in BETDAQ offers is the low-drawn Sir Reginald (21.0), with Paul Hanagan booked by Richard Fahey.
He and Captain Bertie are the right age of those drawn 1-to-10: the pair were second and fourth on heavy ground in the Bunbury Cup, when ‘Reggie’ was unfancied at 50-1 and needed a firm surface. He’s quietly fancied on this better ground today.
3.45 Goodwood (King George Stakes): Masamah and Amour Propre were separated by just under two lengths, first and second, last year with Beyond Desire fourth and Humidor fifth, the first six drawn together between stalls 7 and 12.
You could spend all day studying this field and come up with different results: I’ll take one of the most consistent horses in training, Spirit Quartz (13.5), who has raced as though Goodwood is the fast track he needs.
Abbaye winner, Tangerine Trees, has now shed the Group-1 penalty that has cost him a place in the frame, and should set a scorching pace: 8.0 in case Spirit Quartz doesn’t pull up any trees.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 3.4pts win QUEST FOR PEACE and 1.6pts win (stakes saver) GATEWOOD (2.00 Goodwood)
BET 2.8pts win STIPULATE and 0.8pts win (stakes saver) GREGORIAN (2.35 Goodwood)
WIN-30 JACKPOT: 1.8pts win PRINCE OF JOHANNE, 1.5pts win and place SIR REGINALD, and 1pt win and place BOOM AND BUST (3.10 Goodwood)
BET 2.8pts win TANGERINE TREES and 1.6pts win SPIRIT QUARTZ (3.45 Goodwood)
HORSES TO FOLLOW: Boom And Bust (3.10 Goodwood)
* Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points (unless otherwise stated) so, if you divide 20 by his stake, you know the Betdaq offer taken at the time of writing. Points are what you make them: if your unit stake is £5, then 5pts win is £25.
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