BETDAQ NAP HAND: CONFIDENT VOTE FOR ACADEMY: In a nap hand of races sponsored by BETDAQ at Kempton Park tonight, Daqman gives a confident vote to Fortrose Academy.
POOR BETTING SHOW ON CHANNEL 4: Daqman gives his verdict on yesterday’s first appearance of the new Channel-4 terrestrial-telly team and rates them poor value for a bet.
Whatever happened to the betting? The new Channel-4 team did a good job in the circumstances, with the loss of Cheltenham yesterday, bailed out by Nicky Henderson with a well-pitched visit to Seven Barrows showing off, potentially, four or five Festival winners.
And the racing analysis at Musselburgh, and more particularly on past big races and trial races, took a major step forward in race-reading and in-depth discussion, as you’d expect with experienced men in the studio.
But the graphics for each card were poor and difficult to read, and the touch-screen enhancement (when the gadget worked!) seemed to be done for the benefit of the speaker in the studio not for the listener and viewer, straining to see and hear what was going on.
It’s the usual story these days of creating a plethora of visuals, pads and tablets, with no one asking: does this actually improve anything?
If they are any use at all on racing TV, it is to update the punter as horses are backed, played or layed, fancied or ignored; any tablet showing anything else is purely for decorative purposes, scoring only on a scale of ‘just how clever are we!’ You’re not.
On this showing, Channel-4 simply cannot be trusted to keep me informed: I heard very little discussion of the market, and saw even less. I’m not just saying that because the word ‘exchanges’ wasn’t used until 3.38 p.m.
Halfway through the afternoon, they began to show ‘closers’ and ‘drifters’ in the on-course market but only briefly with, again, hard-to-interpret graphics, ‘touched’ off the screen again in a blink of an eye.
There was none of the adrenalin of the old Channel-4. Are we seriously to believe that only John McCririck knew about, and could present, the essential flow of late betting news and market fluctuation?
Whatever else the ‘new’ team did yesterday, they clearly suggested: betting is no longer a major part of Channel-4 presentation. Or, if it is, we are not sure how to do it.
Market movers, odds comparison between bookmaker and exchange, and the whiff of a gamble gave away to erudite gossip and enhancement of ‘personalities’ (‘Groom of the week’? I’m not convinced about that one; backroom boys are exactly what it says on the tin).
The garish (and often cringingly poor quality) bookmaker adverts which supported the show seemed out of place, partly because there was very little element of betting in the programme itself.
Facts and figures were also few and far between; I mean those that actually help you to back the winner. As Mac himself said on the afternoon the ‘old’ Channel-4 faded out: ‘That’s the end of stats.’ The way he said it sounded like ‘inside information’, in which case he got one bet right.
Unless the punter now researches his own stats (or reads my column), unless he now watches Channel-4 with a laptop searching for betting updates, he won’t know what kind of race he’s in and what result to expect, and he won’t know much about what’s happening in the market.
The new Channel-4 looked more like the BBC, which failed because they had no idea that, whatever else it’s about – personalities, pundits and pretty pictures – much of the excitement of racing to many people at home is about backing a winner.
Each presenter seemed rehearsed to speak with purpose and intensity, and, though it made for good continuity, and the links were more hit than miss, this ‘high vibe’ stuff came over as a bit fake at times.
Jim McGrath seemed more settled in a forum scenario – not so much ‘shuteye’ – speaking well, though too often only in spaces between the Cunningham boom, without Francome telling us that each 33-1 shot had a big chance.
The drollness of Down was missing – I’m sure he’s not Down on his Luck for long – but how ridiculous to fail to fill the McCririck content, with The Female subdued (but more polished and sedate) as if He will return or as if another Ras Prince Monolulu will be foisted on us.
Surely not, though worse things can happen at sea: I mean, if you’re all at sea about the betting.
3.50 Kempton (Back Or Lay At betdaq.com handicap) The usual questions of a low-grade handicap: will blinkers work a second time for Hazza The Jazza, who won in them at Wolverhampton? He’s up a level from class 6.
Seemenomore managed it. He scored twice in six days after the applications of visors. But that was on the softer Southwell surface and he’s gone up a total of 17lb.
Will Sofi’s Spirit be able to step up from claimers and sellers – she’s never won a handicap – and continue her sequence? Third in class 4 looks good but she was getting a stone and more from the first two.
Could the grey Clear Loch improve on his maiden form for the switch to handicaps? I doubt it, with trainer John Spearing currently out of form.
4.20 Kempton (Betdaq Multiples Handicap: Just when they said Steve ‘Local Hero’ Gollings was a one-horse trainer, he won the Lincolnshire National with Soudain and completed a hat-trick with his runners in the next three days over Chistmas. With the yard in such form, Landesherr (8.8 on BETDAQ) could bounce back.
Dual CD winner Shirataki has been dropped a few pounds by the handicapper and the stable has just had a winner but he’ll need big improvement on his tailed-off Lingfield run of three weeks ago.
Nolecce has also been given some help, 6lb lower than for two successes here but, on his winning form, he needs a shorter trip. Rodrigo De Freitas is up 5lb and only just held on here over CD a month ago.
The betting says it’s between El Bravo and Cool Kid, with Cool Kid 6lb better off for a neck on their Wolver one-two of a fortnight back.
Yet Cool Kid is the bigger offer at 6.8, as I write, trained by Ian Williams, who takes after his dad – the Billy I talked about yesterday – in making the very best of low-level material.
4.50 Kempton (Betdaq Mobile Apps Conditions Stakes) Imperial Guest is rated more than a stone better than the two others in this race but has three things against him: he’s never raced on AW, his winning form is mainly at 6f and he’s best known as a strong finisher in big-field handicaps.
Spirit Of Sharjah’s winning form is only a pound behind Imperial Guest’s and that was in a Listed, a grade higher than the Guest has ever won at. In fact, Sharjah – a CD winner – has taken two Listeds. But his last victory is two years ago and he is also a come-from behind performer.
I reckon three-times Kempton winner, the in-form Chapter And Verse, just might nick it. He, too, is often dropped out but, up with the pace last time, he won in a fast time over CD. At 4.8 in a 104% list of offers in the BETDAQ orange, he’s a good bet.
5.20 Kempton (Free Entry For Betdaq Members Handicap) I’m deleting the three highest-drawn horses and the 12-year-old as unlikely winners, and the BETDAQ market seems to agree.
Gabbiano hasn’t won since breaking his maiden – always a bad sign – and a first-time hood will need to revitalise him, an unlikely scenario with his stable lacking a winner in nine weeks.
Lastkingofscotland was a bridesmaid who finally earned the bouquet at Wolver but at the cost of a 7lb penalty. He finished in front of Fortrose Academy at Lingfield.
But, at the difference in weights today, and after earlier losing out to the same horse on today’s course, Scotland may have to yield to Fortrose. I confidently ignore the 4.3 Lastkingofscotland in favour of the 5.7 Fortrose Academy.
6.50 Kempton (Betdaq Mobile Apps Median Auction Maiden Stakes) Captain Starlight was odds on to win it this morning, but notably stays in maidens despite having the required three runs to use a handicap mark.
The handicapper obliged by giving him 73 which puts him more than a stone up on Subtle Difference, but I prefer to watch at the prices.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 3.4pts win COOL KID and 2.5pts win LANDESHERR (4.20 Kempton)
DAQ VALUE: BET 5.2pts win CHAPTER AND VERSE (4.50 Kempton)
BET 4.2pts win (nap) FORTROSE ACADEMY (5.20 Kempton)
* Daqman’s bets today are all staked to win 20 points at the offers available at the time of selection.
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