ALBAMARA THE NEWBURY NAP NOW PRESCOTT’S ROLLING: Daqman says that Motivado, the Sir Mark Prescott winner at Goodwood, was a beacon for his late summer and autumn campaign, so he naps Albamara at Newbury today.
RAIN FALLS FOR ‘CLOUD’ AT DEAUVILLE: The very soft ground is right for Diamond Jubilee runner-up, Moonlight Cloud, and there’s no Black Caviar around at Deauville today.
Imagine going racing and no one told you Frankel, Camelot and Black Caviar were all running. That’s how unprepared I was – and I suspect many more have been – for Britain’s fantastic success in the Olympics. The pundits must be blamed.
No horserace tipster would have let this Olympics get to a gold-medal avalanche without at least researching the basic form and putting up a strong case for glory.
Worse. The previews and concomitant interviews, which might have sewn seeds of optimism, were abysmal. My old cat could have done better with a karaoke kit.
The commentating has been mediocre (Tommo and Cat, all is forgiven!) and after-the-event comment banale. Only Gary Lineker showed any verve and professionalism – too crisp he was not – and I’m even looking forward to Match Of The Day (with the two Alans?)
I propose an Olympic wooden-spoon award for the worst presenter, to be known as a ‘Wiggins’. The wiggins this week is currently booked for the guy who welcomed a record-breaking gold-medallist with the words ‘we think you’ve won but we’re not sure’, adding the perennial ‘how do you feel?’
That summed up the style of the on-the-spot reporting. Those, whether high up in the plush TV offices or on the ground, who were responsible for this ‘dumb and dumber’ stuff should all get a wigging.
The only thing that went to past form was the penalty shoot-out. Odds on, wasn’t it. Our footballers never let us down..
The lesson to be learned for racing? Don’t hide our fantastic venues and the talents that race on them. Let’s get our big races back on a pedestal, financially.
Let’s create new and dramatic situations for our heroes, the Frankels, and give the Press, and therefore the fans, something to gasp about. In advance. There is no such thing as too much publicity, if you are selling a star.
2.40 Deauville (Prix Maurice De Gheest): Even with advance warning of Black Caviar, I was prepared to take her on at Royal Ascot with Moonlight Cloud at the odds (5-1 as opposed to 6-1 on).
She finished second like the quality filly she is and is better off here with the third, Restiadargent. I’ll try a Daq Multiples double with my nap (see 4.20 Newbury)
3.05 Chester (Queensferry Stakes): The BETDAQ offers this morning were at odds with the decade’s results by stall in this race: winners have come from 3, 4, 1, 2, 2, 5, 1, 2, 7, 1.
Contrast that with the draw for the top three in the orange market: Hitchens (in 7), Inxile (8) and Van Ellis (9). Only Night Carnation (in 4) of those at the front of the betting is seemingly in a viable stall.
On the face of it, Van Ellis has a tough task, up 10lb since his Chester success in June, but his stable was in devastating form at Goodwood and be warned that the June success was from the same stall 9.
Hitchens needs it firm; Bogini wants it soft; Inxile prefers the minimum 5f (third in the King George Handicap here in 2009).
If the lightly raced Night Carnation runs as keenly, and finishes as well, as she did in the Palace House Stakes, she would just about win this; she has been dropped to Listed level only once before in the last seven outings.
3.30 Cork: I put Duntle in my horses-to-follow list after she powered home at Royal Ascot on the ‘wrong side’, though the Sandringham Stakes was only the fourth race of her life.
Duntle was at that time Group-3 entered: she now has two Group-3 entries and, eye-catchingly, a Group 1 in September.
Akeed Mofeed looks sure to go on from his belated reappearance in the Irish Derby but it’s the time of year when fillies can make vast improvement.
3.40 Chester: It’s still an advantage to be low drawn over this extended 7f but it can be overcome.
Fathsta is an ever-present at Chester and his form along with others there reads like this: Boris Gregoriev 0, April Fool 4, Fathsta 20023004012, King Of Eden 31, My Kingdom 4140002.
Stall 6 isn’t a bad sit for King Of Eden, who obviously likes it here, but he has never won above class-4 level.
My fancy is Citrus Star at 5.9 on BETDAQ this morning: he has enjoyed the bends of Lingfield and Goodwood, where he won off a 6lb higher mark.
4.20 Newbury: Most of these belong firmly in this Listed class, and Khione hasn’t even reached that level, though the signs are good.
Motivado declared at Goodwood: ‘Yes, my trainer Sir Mark Prescott has his usual late summer and autumn plan under way.’ But that’s not the only reason for siding with Albamara.
Forget her run on the soft last time, and compare her Newbury third to Great Heavens at level weights with Set To Music’s six lengths and more thrashing by the same filly at Haydock.
Granted Set To Music was giving Great Heavens 13lb, partly weight for age, but she has to give Albamara a stone today: Albamara is 5.8 on BETDAQ as I write.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 6.6pts win VAN ELLIS and 5.4pts win NIGHT CARNATION (3.05 Chester)
BET 11pts win DUNTLE (3.30 Cork)
BET 4pts win CITRUS STAR (3.40 Chester)
BET 4pts win (nap) ALBAMARA (4.20 Newbury)
DAQ MULTIPLES: 10pts win MOONLIGHT CLOUD (2.40 Deauville) plus 5pts win double the same one with ALBAMARA (4.20 Newbury) and 1pt win treble those two with DUNTLE (3.30 Cork)
HORSES-TO-FOLLOW: Duntle (3.30 Cork)
* Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points (except in Daq Multiples) 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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