KING BAR NONE AS HE HITS FIVE OUT OF EIGHT: Bar De Ligne (WON 11-4) gave king-of-the-tipsters Daqman his fifth winner from eight races yesterday, a sequence of 11211201, which began in BETDAQ-sponsored races at Kempton on Wednesday.
NOW 124 POINTS UP IN THREE DAYS: His successes included a 14-1 winner and a 55-1 double with two out of three at Wincanton on Thursday, and yesterday’s 10-point profit took him to 124 in the three days.
ADVANTAGE DAQMAN AS HE SERVES 15 ACES: Daqman is 4-1 up on Pricewise in 2014 big races and leads 15-5 since issuing his challenge to the trade-paper tipster in November. Admits Daqman: ‘I have the advantage of morning value on BETDAQ.’
12.40 Ascot This has launched the careers of Binocular, Zaynar and Grandouet but none of today’s runners has a Cheltenham entry.
In-form Louth trainer Steve Gollings (Bar De Ligne yesterday) and jockey-of-the-moment Sam Twiston-Davies team up with unbeaten Handiwork but his 128 rating further reveals that today’s race is not of the usual quality, and he should win it.
1.30 Haydock Taquin Du Seuil, entered in three races at the Cheltenham Festival, is ‘the reason I am at Haydock today’ Tony McCoy tells his Telegraph readers this morning.
He saw Gevrey Chambertin as his main danger but now, in Gevrey’s absence, O’Faolain’s Boy is the sole threat, a horse McCoy rode second at Ascot last month and which he describes as an improver.
My Way De Solzen (2007) took this, his fourth chase, on the way to his Arkle but O’Faolain’s Boy has had just the one run over fences, chasing home Easter Day a month ago on his seasonal reappearance.
Taquin Du Seuil has already won two and has been placed behind leading Cheltenham contenders, Hinterland and Grandouet, and lately Oscar Whisky.
But the 8lb between Taquin Du Seuil and O’Faolain’s Boy under the conditions of today’s race could bring them close together, with the Boy rated just 4lb behind his rival over hurdles, having run fourth in the Albert Bartlett to At Fishers Cross.
2.05 Haydock Nicky Henderson is 11033 in this, a race which in the last two years has produced the winners of both the Neptune and the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Un Temps Pour Tout and Henderson’s Stand To Reason are ‘possibles’ for the Supreme, with Un Temps making his English debut, 10 weeks after running third at Auteuil to Ptit Zig, runner-up in The Ladbroke recently.
But it may not be a two-horse race today. Zamdy Man’s November success over CD and in identical conditions has been franked by the runner-up, and Meadowcroft Boy won on the bit at Carlisle. If he can poach a lead, can they catch him on this ground?
Stand To Reason would not have beaten the unlucky Alan King’s Wilde Blue Yonder, favourite when he came down at the last at Newbury. Reason then only had To Stand up to win.
2.25 Ascot The form book says that Minella Forfitness and The Skyfarmer need better ground, and that Citizenship prefers 2m and Venetia calls him a ‘fun horse’ (always a sign of low expectations).
Get Back In Line is a novice, who blundered away his chances raised in grade last time. Ditto Imperial Leader the last twice. Thomas Crapper and Knight Of Pleasure seem fixed as class-3 level.
Irish Saint goes best in small fields, loves a right-handed track (2-3) and has won over 2m 2f on the soft in France. However, he seemed not in the least bit fancied this morning at 10.5 on BETDAQ. Is this a gift or a Trojan horse?
2.40 Haydock Four winners of this in the last seven years went on to Cheltenham to be Champion Hurdle second, third and fourth, and a World Hurdle winner.
Here’s Ptit Zig. Champion Hurdle outsider but ran a tremendous race to run a four-lengths second, giving 21lb to the winner, in The Ladbroke.
Melodic Rendezvous beat the Triumph Hurdle winner, Far West, when they clashed on Far West’s home turf at Wincanton. He is 3-4 on today’s surface.
3.00 Ascot Tatenen, a long-standing servant to the Stewart family, is on a hat-trick in this race but not for Paul Nicholls. His revival follows a switch to the Richard Rowe yard.
He’s won this off 137 and 143 and has 140 today, which gives him every chance but for the change of ground from the good to soft of his back-to-back success to today’s heavy.
He won for peanuts on the heavy ground particular to Auteuil in his youth but soft-heavy in England since the start of 2009 has had him struggling with returns of 0U300000.
But what can beat him? Back-to-back wins for Renard have cost him a 24lb rise, and he didn’t beat much. His Chepstow victim, Tranquil Sea, is a shadow of the horse that once won the Power Gold Cup. But Renard is an improving sort who will love the ground.
Theatrical Star is back to form but struggled to get beyond the novice stage and had to be dropped to a class 3 to score. What A Warrior prefers a sound surface.
The lightly raced Bury Parade loves this ground and beat the Feltham and RSA Chase placed Hadrians Approach at Kempton but whether or not he carries your money round Ascot today depends on the first-time hood.
He ‘planted’ and refused to race at Exeter last time.
Stablemate Grandioso made a good start to the season at Newbury but is only there to get round today, according to the trainer.
Big Fella Thanks is 12 now but is 12231 on soft-heavy below Graded level and was second in the Greatwood in March off this mark.
It’s an open race in which I can’t have the favourite on the ground. The questions are? Has enard improved enough to contend with Big Fella Thanks at the same weight? Is it a going day for Theatrical Star? Will Bury Parade consent to race?
At the offers, Big Fella Thanks is too big at 11.0 and Renard, as the improver at 6.0, is a better bet in the conditions than Tatenen.
3.15 Haydock (Peter Marsh Chase) Don McCain is 110 in this, the only loser one of his previous winners trying for a repeat.
On Sydney Paget’s side is that he has a comfortable weight, whereas those above him with big burdens will find it hard going in the mud. Against him is that he ran flat last time and has to bounce back to the form of his CD win on soft in November, and a seven-year-old hasn’t won this race for 18 years.
Those from Merry King down are out of the handicap, though Merry King is on the cusp and is visored for the first time. Beaten a nose off 2lb lower in the Tommy Whittle on this course (heavy) just over a year back.
His second in the United House Gold Cup, and fifth in both Hennessy and Welsh National, confirm his quality but pose the question: has he had enough hard racing in the last two months or so?
This year’s Tommy Whittle winner, Night Alliance, is even further out of the handicap but is a late developer over fences (eight chases at the age of nine) and Tim Scudamore is an interesting booking.
Night Alliance is up 31lb in two months and, like Renard in the race before this, the decision is whether he can still improve.
The forgotten horse in the Press assessments is Vintage Star, who ran just as well as Merry King in the Welsh National but is a better offer on BETDAQ at 8.0 this morning. Katenko, who fell when pressing the leaders in the Hennessy, would have finished in front of Merry King that day.
DAQMAN’S BETS (stakes to win 20 each)
BET 12pts win (nap) HANDIWORK (12.40 Ascot)
BET 4pts win MEADOWCROFT BOY (2.05 Haydock)
BET 2pts win IRISH SAINT (2.25 Ascot)
LAY 10pts TATENEN, and BET 4pts win RENARD and 2pts win BIG FELLA THANKS (3.00 scot)
BET 5pts win KATENKO and 2.8pts win VINTAGE STAR (3.15 Haydock)
DAQ MULTIPLES: 3pts win double Handiwork (12.40 Ascot) and Ptit Zig (2.40 Haydock)
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