DAQMAN THE BIG-RACE SQUIRREL: Daqman picked up a Winter Million winner at Windsor yesterday (Secret Squirrel WON 11-4), following a BETDAQ-value strike with Phantomofthepoints (WON 4-1) in another feature race at Wincanton on Thursday. Now the scene switches to Ascot and Haydock.
STAR NAMES ACROSS THE CARDS: Can Jonbon be beaten at Ascot? Can Royal Pagaille triumph at Haydock again? Daqman finds answers at BETDAQ offers up to 14-1.
MARTATOR FROM HOT DYNASTY
⭕ 2.15 Ascot Martator (pictured below, on right) is a small horse and the better ground suits. Not to mention his love of Ascot: he has run up a hat-trick there already on good ground.
Venetia Williams describes the battling progeny of the grey Martaline as extraordinary and in the mould of another son, Dynaste, whose victories included the then Ryanair plus near misses against Silviniaco Conti. BETDAQ 5.8.
RING FOR BELLI GOING RIGHT
⭕ 2.50 Ascot Money for Doddiethegreat (aged 9) and Kamsinas (8) could help provide better odds for young horses who are on a winning streak in the recent history of the race.
Having said that, Nico De Boinville is on Doddie, with James Bowen on the same stable’s six-year-old, Bo Zenith, and the stable’s 3lb claimer on Aston Martini.
We also have two from Nigel Twiston-Davies, with a claiming amateur on Josh The Boss and Sam on the unpredictable Moveit Like Minni, whose autumn form sent chasing was URR but who did better back over hurdles here at Ascot the last day.
Wilful likes to make the running but needs to improve on his first handicap when he faded quickly.
The improved ground should suit Altobelli (cheekpieces), who has a penchant for right-handed tracks. BETDAQ 5.2
DOUBLE HANDFUL FOR TOWNEND
⭕ 3.32 Ascot (Clarence House Chase) The home team is glad that Ireland has a big festival next weekend, with just two Irish raiders for Day 2 of the Winter Million.
But Energumene is a formidable opponent for Jonbon and home fires would be damped down for Cheltenham with a Willie Mullins double after the 2024 Champion Four-Year-Old, Kargese (1.40), in the Mares’ Hurdle.
Winner of 11 chases, including the Champion Chase at Cheltenham back to back (2022-23), Energumene (pictured below) was beaten in this race by Shishkin, is 11 now and raced only once all last year, waiting until the Hilly Way at Cork in December.
Jonbon has overtaken him by just one pound in the ratings and, though also a winner 11 times, is £70k behind on earnings with two years in hand.
Jonbon made all in the Schloer in November to comfortably hold Boothill (worse off at today’s weights) and Edwardstone in second and third; but they are not the calibre of Energumene at his best. And this must be regarded as his Champion Chase.
Paul Townend’s job is to nurse him through his occasional errors and conserve his energy for a finish, knowing he will stay and Jonbon is vulnerable at the business end.
Kargese (⭕ 1.40) will be good practice. His tendency to pull cost him the Triumph Hurdle and he was left with ‘no extra’ again when run out of the Aintree version by Sir Gino (now rated 164).
But the mould was broken when Townend ‘buried’ him at Punchestown in the Champion Four-Year-Old in May and he ran through and went clear from the last.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.35 Energumene
AIM FOR STANDOUT INFANTRY
⭕ 1.55 Haydock Jonbon won this Grade-2 novices at long odds-on in 2022 and there is another standout today in the CD winner on soft, Royal Infantry, rated 11lb and more ahead of his field.
Irish raider Cloonainra has never been strongly fancied and the mare’s big-field Leopardstown second was at 40-1.
She was punished 10lb for it so this sort of race where she gets the mare’s allowance is an obvious alternative to handicaps.
RICHMOND HAS THE STAMINA
⭕ 2.30 Haydock (Peter Marsh Handicap) Royal Pagaille has won this twice and has also done the double here in the Lancashire Chase over further.
When he scored in that race for the second time in November he dimmed Grey Dawning’s Gold Cup hopes and had Bravemansgame trailing in third.
The snag for favourite backers is that it’s four years since he put two wins together. He has been produced for single shots with constant breaks that he has accumulated 937 days off.
It’s just a short break since November (56 days) for one that needs to be super fresh, and has managed only five runs in two years. This is his first handicap since he fell in the 2023 Irish Grand National.
Mr Vango won the London National last month but is another who has had to be lightly raced. Iwilldoit is probably a better slogger, third in the Welsh National three weeks ago.
Richmond Lake won five out of six in 2023, then had a quiet year last year targeting two races over the Grand National fences. This could be a better way to prove his stamina.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.45 Royal Pagaille, 9.7 Richmond Lake, 14 Iwilldoit
DAQMAN’S BETS on Betdaq Betting Exchange
★ 1.40 Ascot (Ascot supernap)
BET 20pts win KARGESE
★ 1.55 Haydock (Haydock supernap)
BET 20pts win ROYAL INFANTRY
2.15 Ascot (win 20)
BET 4pts win MARTATOR
2.30 Haydock (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 5.75pts win RICHMOND LAKE
BET 3.75pts win IWILLDOIT
(4pts to win 10 ROYAL PAGAILLE)
2.50 Ascot (win 20)
BET 5pts win ALTOBELLI
3.32 Ascot (win 12)
BET 5pts win ENERGUMENE
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