‘STONE’ BONKER BETDAQ VALUE FOR THE KING GEORGE: Daqman’s horses-to-follow, featured over today and tomorrow, includes Kauto Stone, with 18.5 offers for the King George available on BETDAQ this morning, though he was 12-1 all round with bookmakers.
‘CINDERS’ COULD HAVE A BALL AT CHELTENHAM: Daqman’s Top Twenty also includes Cinders And Ashes for the Champion Hurdle, in which our man triumphed last March with a massive jackpot value bet on Rock On Ruby (WON 11-1).
Let’s tip the bottle for the jumps season. A delicious Gevrey Chambertin (2002 and 2009 were both good years, I’m told) should go down a treat, sandwiched on my list between established main courses, Flemenstar and Gevrey’s brother, Grands Crus.
A Gevrey Chambertin wine is not a vintage wine but a young wine that quickly matures. If you can find horses like that, you have a profitable season ahead. Gevrey Chambertin and Grumeti are two four-year-olds going places.
Boston Bob The Bob Back seven-year-old has so thrived at Willie Mullins’ yard that plans for a continued hurdles career (he was second in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham) are expected to be shelved in favour of an immediate leap into the chasing game.
Sure enough, he’s entered for the prestigious Drinmore Novices’ Chase at Fairyhouse (December 2), which has been won won in recent years by subsequent Lexus scorer Pandorama and RSA runner-up Jessies Dream. Trafford Lad beat Forpadydeplasterer in the same race.
Boston Bob’s sire, Bob Back, has got the likes of Roberto Goldback and Burton Port. Boston Bob set up a sequence of four wins in a row on heavy ground and was clear top-rated for the Albert Bartlett (going good) but couldn’t get to Brindisi Breeze on the hill.
Cinders And Ashes They still talk about Jason Maguire’s comment went he unsaddled after winning Cheltenham’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle: ‘He hasn’t had a race.’
Men in white coats would normally have moved in on Maguire but guv’nor Don McCain concurred: ‘I don’t think he got the credit he deserved. He’s Champion Hurdle material all right’. Unbeaten in four starts over hurdles.
Flemenstar Ring rusty and beaten twice on reappearance runs, but the son of the mighty Flemensfirth was not for stopping this time around: he made it six consecutive victories when he slammed Big Zeb seven lengths in the Fortria at Navan yesterday.
He started the year by winning the Leopardstown Arkle and took the Powers Gold Cup in the Spring. Imperial Commander and Tidal Bay were Flemensfirth’s biggest money-earners. This one could best them.
Gevrey Chambertin Scored first time over hurdles at Aintree last month, having filled out and strengthened up since his bumper career (won by 30 lengths first time on a racecourse last December).
David Pipe is ultra keen on this four-year-old full brother to his current ace Grands Crus, We can expect to see the two Dom Alco greys on all the big-race cards right up to and including Cheltenham.
Grands Crus Found only Big Buck’s too good for him over hurdles, getting within a length and threequarters of him in the World Hurdle, but had an unblemished novice-chase career. Until Cheltenham, that is.
He beat the much-hyped Sonofvic (Paul Nicholls) and then broke more Ditcheat hearts by slamming Silviniaco Conti at Kempton last Boxing Day. For whatever reason, he didn’t last home behind Boston Bob in the RSA but, still only seven, he is reckoned a better horse this time around and is red-hot favourite for Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup.
Grumeti The Christmas Hurdle and the Champion Hurdle are Alan King’s targets for the Triumph Hurdle third who immediately improved 10lb on the Flat, racing on after Cheltenham, for which he was also raised 10lb. That’s the kind of animal you want on your side. He’s only four years old; he’s that young wine of distinction.
Highland Lodge You normally wouldn’t look twice at a horse that beat four others in a modest beginners’ chase in slow time. But the Flemensfirth gelding (out of a Presenting mare) went to Towcester last week with a tall home reputation at Emma Lavelle’s and, if anything, was a better jumper than we’d been led to expect.
Kauto Stone Half-brother to you-know-who, and a brilliant first-run-back winner for Paul Nicholls of the Down Royal Champion Chase, setting himself on course for top honours in the King George, for which he was 18.5 on BETDAQ this morning, where all the bookies were advertising 12-1.
Hold on, you say: surely not for a champion-chase winner? But the Northern Irish title at Down Royal is for three-milers, and this six times Auteuil winner was taking his fifth Graded race, four of them in chases.
Another objection to Kauto Stone is that he goes well only when fresh, and Nicholls won’t run him again until Boxing Day. But the chances are that the horse was ‘thinking’ about exertion of his first run back, as breathing inhibition took its toll. Of all trainers, Nicholls goes straight to the surgeon with this type and he had the ‘op’ during the close season.
Mic’s Delight Dived into the deep end first run back on Saturday – a Listed chase at Wincanton – three furlongs beyond his winning distance. I shall be looking out for Victor Dartnall’s eight-year-old at one of the two December meetings at Market Rasen (form figures there 112).
Monksland Launched his career in a bumper at Down Royal a year ago, the preliminary to a hat-trick, completed in a Grade 2. Noel Meade’s five-year-old, third in the Neptune at Cheltenham festival, was back at Down Royal at the recent Champion Chase meeting for another Grade-2 hurdles success.
DAQMAN’S BETS
DAQ VALUE BET: 12pts win KILVERGAN BOY (1.10 Southwell)
DAQ VALUE BET: 5.2pts win POLARBROOK (1.20 Carlisle)
PLACE LAY 5pts ROBBIE (1.45 Southwell)
WIN LAY 10pts JOSEPH LISTER and DAQ VALUE BETS 4pts win CUE TO CUE and 3pts win WELL HELLO THERE (all 2.15 Southwell)
DAQ VALUE BET: 10pts win (nap) CAPPA BLEU (2.25 Carlisle)
* Daqman bets to win 20 points (unless otherwise stated for jackpot bets). You therefore know the offer he took (divide 20 by the stake). Win or Place Lays are as per the recommended stakes. Daq Value Bets are bets in races where the morning offers added up to between 103 and 110 per cent.
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