FIVE WINNING DAYS IN A ROW: Daqman bagged another 10-points profit yesterday to go 75 points up in an unbeaten week: five winning days in a row. His winners were Spiritual Lady (won 3-1) and Wadigor (won 11-4), bringing the week’s haul to 11:
WON 13-2 Michaels Mount (Tuesday)
WON 9-2 Bess Of Hardwick (Thursday)
WON 3-1 Spiritual Lady (Friday)
WON 3-1 Mr Monochrome (Monday)
WON 11-4 Wadigor (Friday)
WON 9-4 Laser Light (Tuesday)
WON 7-4 Fool To Cry (Wednesday)
WON 8-11 St Malo (Tuesday)
WON 1-6 Thistlecrack (Tuesday)
WON (place lay) Ready Token (pulled up 13-2 Thursday)
WON (3rd 14-1) Mithqaal (Wednesday)
DAQMAN PLAN TO STAY IN FRONT: Follow Daqman today as he bets in five races with a staking plan that gives him an overall profit if just one horse wins. One winner would also take him to 80 in feature races for the season over Pricewise.
IF IN DOUBT, TAKE ON THE FAVOURITE
2.45 Wetherby (West Yorkshire Hurdle) Take the 2012-13 back-to-back wins by Tidal Bay out of the equation, and you’re not looking for horses as old as nine, and The Romford Pele has yet to make any mark outside handicaps.
Connections reckon Champion Hurdle seventh Lil Rockerfeller can improve for this step up in trip but he’s burdened with Graded-race penalties.
The chasers Oscar Rock and Native River are returning to hurdles, presumably as a prep for forthcoming targets over fences but good runs would encourage their camps to look towards the World Hurdle.
A morning 5.9 offer, If In Doubt, who was never comfortable over the bigger obstacles, went back to hurdles and improved his rating near on a stone, with excellent placed efforts in big races at Cheltenham and Aintree.
The 4lb he gets from the progressive Ballyoptic could make the difference. Ballyoptic is also up a stone for starting the season where he left off last term, back-to-back wins six months apart. It’s a tough field in which to land a favourite’s odds.
3.00 Ascot Young horses win this (nothing over the age of six in the decade), usually from 11st or lower in the handicap (8 from 9).
This isolates Instant Karma, but he was reluctant to line up before scoring his second summer success in lower grade. The holiday may have helped but he drifted like a dog on a raft this morning, well over my betting weir for a back-to-back winner, to 33.0.
Paul Nicholls won this with a four-year-old in 2011 and Diego Du Charmil is being talked about as ‘an awesome chaser’ for next year. He looks a bit too close to Scottish Champion Hurdle winner, Ch’Tibello.
But the handicapper may regret dropping the 2015 Graded-level contender Hint Of Mint 12lb for his return to the racecourse: 7.0 on BETDAQ this morning.
CUE FOR A VALUE BET ON BLAKLION
3.20 Wetherby (Charlie Hall Chase) The Racing Post has put the day’s spotlight on Colin Tizzard and I’d like to see my old neighbor launch Cue Card’s season successfully.
But the man whose moved all in this afternoon is Nigel Twiston-Davies. He’s playing three ace novices: Ballybolley in the opener at Ascot (1.55), Ballyoptic in the West Yorkshire Hurdle, just discussed, and finally Blaklion here.
Cue Card won this first time up last season but his nearest rival was the nearly horse, Dynaste, who’s done nothing since and been dropped 12lb in the ratings.
That he climbed the heights – up 16lb to 176 – is well documented but Cue Card would like some juice in the ground; there hasn’t been a 10-year-old win this race in 12 seasons; and the three years he’s giving to the improver Blaklion could close the gap and fly in the face of the ratings.
There are 7.6 offers about Blaklion as I write (to 1.75 Cue Card) in a marvelous 102% overround BETDAQ orange.
He won the Towton Novices’ Chase over today’s Wetherby CD before taking the RSA at Cheltenham on a fast surface.
Cue Card beat the previous RSA winner, Don Poli, at level weights at Aintree in April but Blaklion gets 5lb here because of Cue Card’s Grade-1 penalty, and his stable has won this four times, three of them with second-season novices.
3.35 Ascot Another race which high-weighted horses find tough (no winners in the decade with more than 11st 3lb in the saddle).
But it’s difficult to argue with the form of the 7.4 BETDAQ offer Tea For Two, particularly with the claimer taking his weight down to 11st 7lb. He’s a standout.
ON GUARD FOR NOVEMBER REVENGE
4.15 Leopardstown (November Handicap) Top-class stayers, including a World Hurdle winner and an Ascot Stakes star, win this: Silver Concorde, Clondaw Warrior, Solwhit, to name but a few, as they say.
Jennies Jewel (Ascot Stakes) fits the bill but is nine now, and was only fifth when Cradle Mountain was second and Swamp Fox third in the Irish Cesarewitch. They are rehandicapped to finish level today.
The Roconga (they’re offering 11.5) form figures of 31301 become 1023103011 when you add his hurdles success, just as Snow Falcon’s form of 14 becomes 101114, still standing, when winning hurdles races are added.
Guard Of Honour (20.0 on BETDAQ this morning), placed in the 2015 Irish Cesarewitch, was then unlucky when mugged close home and beaten a neck in this November Handicap of today’s mark of 84 and has been saved up for revenge.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 30 points)
2.45 Wetherby
BET 6pts win IF IN DOUBT
3.00 Ascot
BET 6.5pts win CH’TIBELLO and 5pts win HINT OF MINT
3.20 Wetherby
BET 4.6pts win BLAKLION
3.35 Ascot
BET 4.6pts win (nap) TEA FOR TWO
4.15 Leopardstown
BET 1.5pts win and place GUARD OF HONOUR
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