HEY BUDDY! HERE’S A CHELTENHAM ‘MONSTER’ AT 10.5: Daqman’s Cheltenham Festival grapevine tells him to ‘get on’ Buddy Bolero for the National Hunt Chase at 10.5 on BETDAQ this morning. He’s a ‘monster’ in waiting.
DARING ‘DOUBLE WHAMMY’ AT LUDLOW: Today Daqman dares a ‘double whammy’ in the opener at Ludlow, laying the odds-on morning favourite and napping the second horse in the market.
Buddy, can you spare a dime? They sang that song in the 1930s during the great recession in America. I doubt if the high-roller punters will be cutting back at Cheltenham, despite the current recession blues in this once-prosperous 21st century.
And many a buck and dime could well be going on Buddy Bolero in the National Hunt Chase. I’m told this horse is a ‘monster’ for the festival.
‘Information’ from the stables and from contacts is often best ignored. Or, sometimes, as yesterday, ruefully just short of the mark.
My whisper in the opening BETDAQ-sponsored race at Kempton last night, Jewelled (3rd 33-1) was seemingly not fancied, but – who else knew? – would have won with a clear run, having to be snatched up inside the final furlong.
The word I have for Buddy Bolero is that, though he’s cruised his races so far, he is being ‘left alone’ by punters (at 10.5 on BETDAQ this morning) because it’s assumed that, as a soft-heavy hat-trick scorer, he needs a bog, which is always unlikely at Cheltenham.
In fact, They are saying that he will be even better on good ground. And They point to the preferences of his sire, Accordion. Let’s have a flutter and hope They are right.
Accordion’s most famous sons are Albertas Run and Champion Chase hero, Flagship Uberalles, who won 12 races on good, good to soft and yielding ground, including three at Cheltenham.
Albertas Run won four times at Cheltenham, including the RSA and the Ryanair twice. He needed genuinely good ground (10 wins on it). The implication is that, rain or shine, we can spare a dime for Buddy Bolero, and that Cheltenham will be his ancestral home from home.
Some 53 lengths behind Buddy Bolero at Leicester a month ago was Ballyoliver, 7.0 offer for today’s feature, the Forbra Gold Cup at Ludlow (3.30).
The race has been won for the last eight seasons by a horse of eight years or younger, almost always well backed (four winning favourites out of six).
Ballyoliver is nine now and 8lb higher than for his last success, but is with trainer-of-the-moment Venetia Williams and has won twice on good to soft.
Pearlysteps, narrowly the morning favourite, was fourth on the last day to Harry Topper, who is the same price as Buddy Bolero for the National Hunt Chase. But ‘Pearly’ has scored only once in three years.
His Henry Daly stablemate, Grove Pride, ridden by Richard Johnson, has been waiting for this better ground, having got stuck in the mud, following a runaway novice-chase win at Exeter on a sounder surface.
Politeo, Requin, The Chazer and Cootehill have never won this far, so I reckon Buck Mulligan the danger. A winner twice at Ludlow, and another who has waited for the going to change, he has a 50% win-and-place strike-rate from 18 starts racing right-handed and goes well fresh.
It’s 17.5 bar two in the opener, with soft-heavy winner Bullet Street the odds-on favourite and Who’s Cross tempting at 3.1
Who’s Cross has switched from Willie Mullins to Nicky Henderson to get the better ground over here, and Nicky is sure to have him bang on first time.
The horses behind Bullet Street at Limerick have recorded only one win from 41 starts, and Bullet Street’s reputation hangs on his flattering third of four behind Far West at Ascot.
But it’s not what beats you but what you beat that matters and the fourth horse has been hammered a total of 108 lengths in his three hurdles starts. Bullet Street is a lay at evens or odds on: 1.91 on BETDAQ, at time of writing.
DAQMAN’S BETS
LAY 10pts BULLET STREET and BET 9.5pts win (nap) WHO’S CROSS (2.00 Ludlow)
BET 3.4pts win BUCK MULLIGAN and 3pts win GROVE PRIDE (3.30 Ludlow)
BET 6.2pts win IFYOUSAYSO (4.00 Ludlow)
BET 3.3pts win RAINFORD GLORY (8.00 Kempton)
WIN-40 ANTE-POST: BET 4.2pts win BUDDY BOLERO (10.5 on BETDAQ, National Hunt Chase, Cheltenham)
• Daqman’s bets are staked to win 20 points, unless otherwise stated, and lays are to 10 points.
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