SECONDS OUT! DAQMAN COMES BACK FIGHTING: Daqman is not a pretty bridesmaid, and some of his exasperation yesterday was not that pretty either, after a sequence of 222202 to start the two (!) days at Cheltenham, including seconds at 11-2, 6-1 and 8-1. The score over Pricewise remained 7-4: Daqman loss -2.36 against Pricewise +4.33. Says Daqman: ‘It only goes to spur me on to do better’. Headlines today:
PUNT ON A PROTEKTORAT TRIUMPH
CORRAL RULES, OK! HE’S A NATURAL
MEDIC MAGIC COULD FOIL FRODON
‘ROCK’ POINTER TO THE BEST FORM
SILVER CAN HIT A WINNING STREAK
PUNT ON A PROTEKTORAT TRIUMPH
12.10 Cheltenham (Triumph Trial) Last time there was a decent field for this, the winner went on to take the Triumph itself at the festival in March.
That winner was Defi Du Seuil, and family member Fanfan Du Seuil, five-lengths Exeter scorer, is the ratings leader as they go to post.
I was watching the racing at home yesterday, just about to write for this page that Tom George was only 1-24 in the last fortnight, which was putting me off Fanfan, when I saw some Chelsea blue go clear in the novices’ chase.
The World’s End must surely go in my horses to follow the way he shrugged off the fence-by-fence pestering of Ibis Du Rheu and ran away with the race, albeit with Lil Rockerfeller on the deck. He looked thoroughly at home at Cheltenham.
But there’s another French-bred here from another long line of winners, Fret d’Estruval (Alan King), and he’s from the Guillaume Macaire emporium.
Protektorat is a third ‘Frenchman’, well tried in a Listed over hurdles at Auteuil and getting 7lb from his compatriots.
Katpoli was well beaten in another Triumph Trial at the November meeting, but he was the one for money early mouse. So it’s not just a feud between two families: Seuil and Estruval.
Tom George won this with Baby Mix (2011) first run after arriving from France, and Alan King with Sceau Royal (2015), bought – you guessed it – from Guillaume Macaire. I took 3.95 Dan Skelton’s Protektorat.
CORRAL RULES, OK! HE’S A NATURAL
12.45 Cheltenham I wrote up Drovers Lane for a race yesterday in my midweek previews. How do they feel now, switching to take on Nicky Henderson who has won this three times in seven years with eight-year-old tough nuts like Whisper and Oscar Whisky?
‘Wish we weren’t giving weight away’, says trainer Rebecca Curtis; ‘we bought him for good ground and the rain won’t help.’
Henderson has another eight-year-old here, the J P McManus owned Ok Corral (they fought the law and the law won). A 2m winner, he was second in the Albert Bartlett (3m) and is a ‘natural’ for fences, says Nicky.
He was better backed in the morning market (2.86 as I write) than stablemate Jenkins, who was behind Le Breuil at the November meeting here but there was less than a length between them on good ground.
MEDIC MAGIC COULD FOIL FRODON
1.55 Cheltenham (Winter Gold Cup) Paul Nicholls has already won this twice with the same horse, Poquelin, back to back (2009-10).
Now here’s Frodon, who took it two years ago when only four. He was beaten just a couple of lengths in the big-field Autumn Gold Cup over the Cheltenham CD in the middle of last month, with last year’s winner of this, Guitar Pete, in third.
Successful that day, Baron Alco, is raised 6lb, which gives Frodon 3lb with which to turn around a two-lengths beating, with Guitar Pete 10 lengths to make up.
Pete’s stable has just landed four wins in a row, six out of seven (with Reivers Lad the one who delighted them most).
But, if you’d Rather Be on Henderson again here, that one was brought down four out when moving into contention behind Baron Alco.
Robert Walford confesses that Mr Medic has moved up in the ranks at home from ‘a good fun horse’ to an ‘amazing’ jumper., and has his big chance here off a light weight, despite leaping 31lb since the autumn.
VERDICT: Not so sure about Baron Alco’s front-running style if the rain changes the ground, which would also be a negative for Rather Be.
Apart from his second to Baron Alco on good, Frodon (BETDAQ 13.5) has won here at Cheltenham on soft and on heavy, and seems sure to reach the frame but it’s a huge task to give 21lb to Mr Medic (14.5 offers).
‘ROCK’ POINTER TO THE BEST FORM
2.30 Cheltenham (Bristol Novices Hurdle) Conygree, Unowhatimeanharry, Blaklion.. We would be Supremely Lucky if this race threw up more of this high calibre!
The first three in the market were all winners on the last day but Aye Aye Charlie and Doux Pretender are literally neck and neck on collateral form with Stoney Mountain.
It usually pays to oppose them when they’re ‘all of a heap’ but novices can step forwards or go backwards.
The answer may be a bit of win and place Rockpoint (BETDAQ 7.6), who was closing at the finish, albeit getting 10lb, when running up to Vive le Roi in the Ladbrokes Hurdle at Newbury (3m soft).
Vive Le Roi was short-headed by First Assignment here at Cheltenham in October and that’s the best form on show. Rockpoint’s trainer won the race last year.
SILVER CAN HIT WINNING STREAK
3.05 Cheltenham (International Hurdle) With form figures in the race of 11-12, The New One, now aged 10, tries to win this for a fourth time, taken on by the one who broke his sequence, Old Guard.
In the Old versus the New, the 10-year-old needs it soft, the younger Old boy wants top of the ground. But this morning’s BETDAQ market says neither will win; they’re both around 11.0.
If you think you have a sighter to he going, taking an early position on one of the two could pay off. But over my cornflakes, I will have to assume that Old Guard’s serial defeats (2232) continue and that The New One is old hat.
Silver Streak, 6.6 on BETDAQ this morning, has beaten them both this autumn and, though all his best form is on a sound surface, he is the one improver in the race and was well backed early mouse.
Summerville Boy (twice beat Western Ryder) comes out even better and, if you think the going will be very soft, he’s the one.
It’s a mini-Champion Hurdle of old and new, as the ratings suggest (each horse revised to 11st): Brain Power 158, Summerville Boy 153, The New One 149, We Have A Dream 149, Old Guard 148, Vision des Flos 148, Silver Streak 146, Western Ryder 145.
DAQMAN’S BETS
12.10 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 6.75pts win PROTEKTORAT
12.45 Cheltenham (supernap)
BET 20pts win OK CORRAL
1.55 Cheltenham (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 4pts win FRODON
BULL’S-EYE BET 3.5pts win MR MEDIC
2.30 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 3pts win and place ROCKPOINT
3.05 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 3.5pts win SILVER STREAK
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