HOW DAQMAN SCORED 10 OUT OF 10: Followers of Daqman’s horses-to-follow columns will have been on at least 10 winners from 10 of his chasers and hurdlers in the autumn season. Here they are, but will they survive and remain in his list for the New Year and the winter run-up to Cheltenham? Watch this space.
DAQ VALUE AT TAUNTON: Today Daqman varies his strategy with a nap, Daq-Value bet, place-only bets, and Daq Multiples, in an effort to make ends meet at Taunton.
Monksland Goes to the top of my horses-to-follow list after scoring for me on Saturday. Launched his career in a bumper at Down Royal 13 months ago, the preliminary to a hat-trick, completed in a Grade 2, and with two of the wins on soft-heavy.
Noel Meade’s five-year-old, third in the Neptune at the Cheltenham Festival on a sound surface, was back at Down Royal at the Champion Chase meeting in November for another Grade-2 hurdles success.
Zaidpour beat him in early December but he again showed his liking for heavy ground when turning the tables on Saturday at Leopardstown.
Boston Bob Another heavy-ground horse, second in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, but whose sire, Bob Back, has got the likes of Roberto Goldback and Burton Port.
So he was forecast for a return over fences in the Drinmore in early December. In fact, he waited for an easier race at Navan a fortnight ago.
Boston Bob started 5-1 on, with the ground described by his winning jockey, Ruby Walsh, as ‘really heavy.’ You Must Know Me stuck with him but there were 37 lengths to the third.
Highland Lodge This is how I introduced Highland Lodge to my early-November list: ‘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.’
Since then, Highland Lodge has scored over three miles in devastating fashion at Cheltenham (22 lengths and 21 lengths from an odds-on favourite Our Father).
Seven of the last eight winners of that race went on to contest the RSA Chase at Cheltenham but Barry Geraghty afterwards regarded him as a Welsh National type, so well is he endowed with stamina.
Flemenstar Of Flemenstar, I wrote; ‘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.
‘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’ and he could join their ranks.
After this, Flemenstar went on to beat Sir Des Champs in a fascinating duel for the John Durkan, but on Saturday was run out of the Lexus Chase prize in a late flourish by Tidal Bay.
Until that moment, he had been rated higher even than Long Run but defeat came on the back of Long Run’s rallying King George victory, and – though his jumping was again fantastic – Flemenstar’s stamina is now in question, though hopefully he won’t always encounter bog-heavy ground.
Gevrey Chambertin We can expect to see him at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, if only the weather would relent a bit and give us some decent racing.
I added him to the list after he 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).
The full brother to Grands Crus went on to a narrow victory at Haydock, despite giving 7lb to the winner, who went on to score at Carlisle a fortnight ago.
Dynaste I picked up Dynaste when he beat Fingal Bay first run back. Fingal Bay had won five of his six previous starts, but it was the mature way Dynaste treated his fences – such confidence – that had me hooked.
Dynaste has gone on to win the Berkshire Novices’ Chase at Newbury and the Feltham at Kempton Park, a modern sure-fire guide to future stars.
The Feltham first came back to prominence with Joe Lively (2007) but the recent winners Long Run (2009) and Grands Crus (2011) have made it the number-one staging post to excellence.
Silviniaco Conti Since I put this one up, he’s beaten Long Run in the King George winner’s prep race at Haydock and so climbed the handicap to 172, the same rating off which Long Run won at Kempton.
Has never been out of the frame, winning nine of his 14 starts and the sky’s the limit for this son of Dom Alco, sire of Al Ferof, Neptune Collonges and Grands Crus.
Tarla I wrote: ‘Reckoned the next Quevega in County Carlow. Yet another star under the Mullins-Walsh banner, this mudloving mare stretched 12 lengths clear at Punchestown last month.’
Tarla continued on the upgrade, winning for my ‘team’ by eight lengths over Our Girl Salley (seven lengths behind Quevega at the Cheltenham Festival).
Just as I was about to spout ‘I told you so,’ Tarla, as 11-4 on favourite, buckled over at the last when landing too steeply with a Cork novice-chase at her mercy. Let’s hope it doesn’t leave a mark.
Whisper Quote unqouote Daqman: ‘ Nicky Henderson bumper winner to look out for over hurdles. That bumper was a procession (15 lengths, threequarters and 20) and he has impressed with his schooling at home.’
Result: Whisper won six lengths at Ffos Las on Boxing Day, and is now a Cheltenham prospect, having beaten – finished a stone in front – a 130 rated Oscar gelding who had been in the ‘threes’ four times out of five.
Sprinter Sacre In contrast, I put up an obvious one in Sprinter Sacre and he duly made it 10 from 12 with a stylish victory at Sandown.
NEAR MISS: Raya Star will probably stay on my list, though second twice since I brought him into my team, beaten by Oscar Whisky and Darlan. I have chasing in mind.
Raya Star and Darlan – plus Jezki, the Future Champion winner at Leopardstown on Thursday – are by the St Leger winner, Milan, a sire with a really hot strike-rate with up-and-coming youngsters.
BOMBS: West End Rocker has yet to recapture the form of his Becher Chase win in 2011 and will be 11 years old on January 1. These old boys do well in the Grand National so we’ll see how he is at that time.
Sir Des Champs a bomb! I don’t think so. He hasn’t won for me but showed the stamina that bagged him the Punchestown Champion Chase in the Spring when rallying in the mud to get within threeparts of a length of victory in the Lexus on Friday.
Six of his eight wins have come between January and March, and his Cheltenham Festival successes (Martin Pipe Conditionals’ Hurdle and Jewson Novices’ Chase) both came on ground officially registered as ‘good.’
DAQMAN’S BETS
PLACE ONLY: 5pts on each SIDNEY MELBOURNE at 2.2 on BETDAQ (12.40 Taunton) and DIMPSY TIME at 2.76 (1.45 Taunton)
DAQ VALUE: BET 12pts win (nap) MASTER FLIGHT (1.45 Taunton)
BET 6.6pts win LANDSCAPE (3.30 Taunton)
DAQ MULTIPLES: 3 x 3pt win doubles and 1pt win treble Electrolyser (12.40 Taunton), Master Flight (1.45 Taunton) and Landscape (3.30 Taunton)
* Daqman bets to win 20 points (except ‘place only’ and Daq Multiples). You therefore know the offer he took (divide 20 by the stake). The bet marked ‘Daq Value’ is because morning offers add up to a total probability of 106%, so a race to get an early position on.
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
