REACH FOR THE SKY AT KEMPTON: Frankie Dettori makes an early start to a Betdaq-sponsored quartet of intriguing races at Kempton Park tonight, so that he can ride Sky Khan in the ‘Back Or Lay’ Handicap. Daqman says ‘back!’
6.00 Kempton Park (Win Big With Betdaq Multiples Apprentice Handicap): Thomas Brown knows how to win this: he scored with the gambled-on Night Spot in 2007. There hasn’t been a winning favourite since.
Tom’s last fancied mount for Andrew Balding – Hot Secret at Ffos Las last week – did the business, also with the money down, and his ride today, Rawaki, was a similar punt under Jimmy Fortune at Windsor in June and ran a sound second.
Rawaki has since gone well enough at Ascot in the same sort of class-2 1m 4f event. Remains lightly raced with only four appearances, and is tonight dropped by two grades down to a class-4 apprentice.
The CD winner Beat Route (groan) and Goodwood hero Darren Egan on Kuda Huraa may be the dangers but Rawaki looks good.
6.30 Kempton Park (Back or Lay At betdaq.com Handicap): With three mounts for Godolphin tonight, Frankie Dettori is early into the changing room to ride Sky Khan for Ed Dunlop.
Though others seemingly have better claims, Sky Khan is a dark horse with chinks of light which suggest that this son of Cape Cross out of a Galileo mare could be better than his form suggests.
He was fancied in a big field at Doncaster (SP 11-2) on his first run after being gelded but hated the firm ground. Nevertheless caught the eye.
Today’s slowish Kempton Polytrack can make all the difference to ‘Sky’ (what no applause for my word play?) and, with the specific jockey booking, I’ll pay my pound.
7.00 Kempton Park (Betdaq Mobile Apps/British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes): This is good money for a maiden at Kempton and the big boys have responded in force: Cecil, Hannon, Prescott, Varian, Sir Mark Prescott and the Godolphin duo of Saeed Bin Suroor and Mahmood Al Zarooni all have runners.
Mandeville (Hannon) is gradually improving and keep an eye on Naalatt (Al Zarooni), first foal of a sister to a Ribblesdale winner, after her Folkestone experience.
Pompeia (Ralph Beckett) has had two races but both revealed her as a bridesmaid, a little bit of a thing with nowhere to go in terms of scope and a future. But the money was down at Doncaster, and they’ll need to use her up as a juvenile.
The last pair of Sir Henry Cecil juveniles to debut have both finished fourth, which is par for his team of two-year-olds first time out.
I’m inclined to try a pound on Thiqa. She is a New Approach out of a Nashwan mare who has already thrown two-year-olds that won first and second time out.
7.30 Kempton Park (Betdaq Casino Games Nursery): Similar to the Sky Khan situation earlier, William Burke is an eye-catching booking for course-and-distance maiden winner London Citizen.
London Citizen drops back from an attempt at a Group-2, the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket last month, run on heavy ground, won by the subsequent (Goodwood) Vintage Stakes hero, Olympic Glory.
Back where he began, London Citizen may have most to fear from the lower echelons of the handicap. But, according to Bill down the betting shop, quality – and, therefore, weight from a high rating – is the preferred qualification for nurseries, if his stats are to be believed.
This betting rule, he says, has to be broken when ‘certain trainers’ sneak one in at the foot of the handicap, or when Richard Hannon has runners.
Well, no Hannon, and none of the ‘certain trainers’ he has listed, though Ralph Becket might get more out of Blazing Knight in visors for the first time, and Denis Coakley has a fair bunch of youngsters, notably Percy Jackson, who has been campaigned abroad.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 7pts win RAWAKI (6.00 Kempton Park)
BET 4.5pts win SKY KHAN (6.30 Kempton Park)
BET 7pts win THIQA (7.00 Kempton Park)
BET 6.5pts win (nap) LONDON CITIZEN (7.30 Kempton Park)
* Daqman’s selections are backed to win 20 points 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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