YES! DAQMAN HITS SIX WINNING NAPS IN A ROW: For the second day running yesterday, Daqman spotted the gamble on Betdaq: on Saturday it was Hunter’s Light (WON 8-11 from 2.6 on the Daq), then a Sunday-best maximum stakes banker at morning odds against on the exchange: Fingal Bay (WON 4-5). His sequence looks like this:

• Tuesday: RUN TO FLY (WON 15-8)
• Wednesday: CAMBORNE (WON 6-4)

• Thursday: IRISH FLAME (WON 5-1)

• Friday: GRANDS CRUS (WON 13-8)
• Saturday: HUNTER’S LIGHT (WON 8-11)
• Sunday: FINGAL BAY (WON 4-5)


It’s a culture shock today. After the bliss of betting and napping quality horses in quality races, we come down to earth, and the one essential ingredient is hard to find: trust.

If punters looked on horses as people, and asked the question ‘who can I trust with my money,’ they wouldn’t pick any Tom, Dick or Harry horse they hardly knew, now would they?

Which, if any, of those animals running today can we trust to perform to the level of ability that begs for their selection, and is there any value in backing them?

The answer to which is the quality horse today has to be Notus De La Tour (1.30 Plumpton): he’s going to be odds on and it’s a novice chase but the horse has class, and there are times for buying money.

You are talking a hurdles second in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham, and an impressive debut over fences at Carlisle for David Pipe, who put the Pipe dynasty back in the big time at the weekend.

I doubt much of a show from Dona, with Alan King have had a totally disappointing weekend: he does very well at this Plumpton meet, but the signs are ominously against him today: he’s had only one winner, and that in four-horse race (only three finished), from 26 runners since November 5.

It’s Kind Of Easy’s chasing debut but Megastar, fifth in the Neptune novice hurdle at Cheltenham, and winner of the Aintree Champion Bumper, saw the bigger obstacles for the first time at Ascot at the end of last month.

Megastar will have learned from the outing but needs to: a strapping big beast, his jumping at Ascot was novicey and he was 10-lengths last of three, making a bad error six out.

We hope he will help keep the price up for Notus De La Tour but I would surmise that a clean round of jumping is more important to trainer Gary Moore for his six-year-old this afternoon on such a tight track.

He’s leading trainer at Plumpton but has had 21 runners since November 2 for just one success, a 13-8 favourite. And it’s clear from the SPs that most of his runners are struggling, with his horses in the last four days starting 66-1, 50-1 (twice), 33-1, 20-1 and 16-1.

Compare that with David Pipe’s figures in the same period: 10311100400. I just hope ‘Notus’ isn’t too short, but 4-6 or so. There are such negatives in the stables opposing him that anything around that price would be value.

Apart from David Pipe, Paul Nicholls was in stupendous form at the weekend; his figures since Oscargo failed as favourite on Friday are 111121014320.

Flaming Gorge (2.30) is better than the bare form and has thrived with the switch to Ditcheat; he and Penny Max, at their young age, should improve past Majy d’Auteuil.

Leicester suffers from firm ground; though it’s overcast, no rain is expected, so the fields of 9, 4, 5, 5, 8 and 9 may cut up further.

Tony McCoy’s mount, First Fandango (2.50), had come clear in the market when I checked the exchanges early doors, so I shall try a couple of Daq trebles.

DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 20pts win (nap with banker stakes) NOTUS DE LA TOUR (1.30 Plumpton)
BET 8pts win PENNY MAX and 4pts win (stakes saver) FLAMING GORGE (2.30 Plumpton)
DAQ MULTIPLES: 2 x 2pt win trebles Notus De La Tour (1.30 Plumpton), with Penny Max and Flaming Gorge (2.30 Plumpton) and First Fandango (2.50 Leicester)


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