WINNING COMEBACK FOR DAQMAN BANKERS: Daqman brought back his banker bet out of a retirement for maximum stakes on Chatterbox (WON 5-4) at Newbury yesterday. That made it back-to-back naps following Broxbourne (WON 13-8) on Friday.
BETDAQ 17.0 MUST BE TAKEN ANTE-POST: Though the horse he beat in December, My Tent Or Yours, then won the BF Hurdle, Chatterbox was 17.0 on BETDAQ for the Supreme Novice Hurdle this morning. Get on! says Daqman.
ONE-TWO IN THE BIG HURDLE: Daqman landed the old one-two in the BF Hurdle with My Tent Or Yours (WON 5-1) and Cotton Mill (2nd 9-1) from three bets.
THREE WINNERS FOR HORSES TO FOLLOW: His horses to follow, archived as the ‘Daqman Dozen’ on January 7, produced Boston Bob (WON 6-4), Sir Des Champs (WON 11-8) and Silviniaco Conti (WON 8-11).
There’s a horse missing from the headlines today. You won’t see much mention of Mail De Bievre after yesterday’s Cheltenham trials but you will in the future, if trainer Tom George gets his entries right.
To be fair, since Mail De Bievre had twice won at 22 furlongs in France, and is by the same sire as Long Run and Big Buck’s, the 3m Denman Chase seemed a good option.
But, after his scintillating display of jumping from the front, I don’t think it’s wishful thinking to say he would have trotted over the one-pacers in the 2m 1f Game Spirit Chase on the same card.
That now sets him up for a Ryanair clash at Cheltenham with Flemenstar, who yet again yesterday wilted at the business end of 3m after jumping well at Leopardstown but not being allowed his own way.
The winner, Sir Des Champs, showed the late reserve of stamina that must take him to the Gold Cup, but it’s hard to see him troubling Silviniaco Conti, who was scintillating despite the feeling the way he races that better ground will make a real champion of him.
Boston Bob and Unioniste boosted their RSA chances, Boston Bob with a late surge from way out of his ground – 500.0 in running – which had me wondering whether the National Hunt Chase won’t be a better race for him at Cheltenham.
Trainer Willie Mullins’ assertion that he might go for the Jewson -surely he’d be a tractor among sports cars in that! – sounds as crazy as his ‘I thought Boston Bob was beaten, even in the replay.’
But I have trouble training my wisteria up a drainpipe so I bow to Mullins’ superior racing mind, though I won’t be supporting the Boston Bob opinion with my money.
Like Tom George with the placing of Mail De Bievre, the bookies would like to have bet in hindsight on the opening race at Newbury.
After My Tent Or Yours won the BF Hurdle with his head in his chest, they would surely have gone back and made his December conqueror, Chatterbox, odds on for the novice hurdle in which he comfortably accounted for Lac Fontana.
Chatterbox raced and won like a horse with a big future. He was a crazy price yesterday – hence my enforced return to banker betting – and it’s just as crazy to see him 17.0 on BETDAQ today for the Supreme Novice Hurdle when the horse he beat in December, My Tent Or Yours, is now 3.5 favourite.
So smart did My Tent Or Yours look yesterday that there was talk of the Champion Hurdle; that he looked ‘like a Make A Stand.’ I hope they will succumb to that temptation.
That would seemingly leave the novice event between my bet, Chatterbox, and Jezki. But Tony McCoy was adamant that was a step too far at this stage of his career, and he should stick to the Supreme.
I said Chatterbox created an ‘enforced return to banker betting’ because my way of backing horses is about value, and rarely do you get short-priced animals that are worth maximum stakes. That’s usually because they are the right price or a hyped price.
Not many are running free at odds against like Chatterbox, on a day when the form about a novice is being advertised by the favourite in a major race on the same day’s card. He should have been odds on, even before My Tent Or Yours won.
Meanwhile, Tom George did get one right. He swerved the Game Spirit with Majala and won the Arkle Trial with him at Warwick, such as it was with Fago’s exit making the race unreliable for form. And Majala unlikely to get the mud he needs at Cheltenham.
Melodic Rendezvous and Puffin Billy (2.30) go head to head at Exeter today for a place in the Supreme Novice Hurdle, while Harry Topper (3.00) gets on track for the National Hunt Chase.
The 1.66 Puffin Billy and 2.65 Melodic Rendezvous illustrates my point about banker bets. Though both have won in the mud, we have no collateral form to judge them by and both offers have very little built-in risk.
Highland Lodge (3.00) is in my horses-to-follow list but those he beat at Cheltenham in December have not gone on, and Highland Lodge has already been beaten by Harry Topper.
The improving Hawkes Point looks the bigger danger to Harry Topper today but will need to have improved. The horse he beat over CD at Exeter on the first day of the year, Gullinbursti, had been nearly 10 lengths off Harry Topper in a similar Exeter contest in October.
Meanwhile, conditions are right on the slow Fibresand for Caramelita (4.50) at Southwell today, with Graham Lee booked: 14.5 is way over the top for a horse dropped in the handicap and returning to his right trip.
Flying Pickets has had to resort to claimers; Bitaphon looks a bridesmaid; Desert Strike, Mazovian and Desert Strike all prefer sprinting.
Frontier Fighter didn’t follow up his maiden success, and Royal Holiday remains high in the weights for a double on the course at the back end of last year.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 13pts win (nap) HARRY TOPPER (3.00 Exeter)
BET 1.4pts win and place CARAMELITA (4.50 Southwell)
ANTE-POST: WIN-50 JACKPOT: 3.1pts win CHATTERBOX (Supreme Novice Hurdle, Cheltenham next month)
Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points, so you know the offer he took from the points he’s placed (divide 20 by the stake). Jackpot bets are where stakes are raised to win 30, 40 or even 50 points.
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.
