JUMP TO THE FRONT WITH DAQMAN: Daqman is keeping his head in front at Aintree, hoping to jump into a big lead on the final day. Results so far:
Aintree Friday: profit on the day 9.83
WON 7-2 SALVATOR MUNDI
WON 4-6 JONBON (supernap)
Aintree Thursday: profit on the day 6.50
WON 11-4 MURCIA BETDAQ 6.8 taken
WON 5-4 LOSSIEMOUTH
WON (Lay) GREY DAWNING 2nd 9-4
MAKE YOUR MIND UP
👊 COME ON MY SON! I Am Maximus, who goes for back-to-back wins, is the son of Authorised, same sire as the last dual winner, Tiger Roll.
☀️ GOOD GOING: Broadway Boy, Duffle Coat, Hewick, Hyland, Kandoo Kid, Minella Cocooner, Stay Away Fay, Stumptown, Threeunderthrufive and Twig all act best on good, good to soft ground.
⏱️ RACE PACE: Beauport, Three Card Brag, Threeundethrufive, Vanillier the most likely to give you the thrill of a National leader.
DAQMAN: see Tuesday’s column and his verdict below.
MULLINS FOR A NATIONAL 1-2-3
🏆 4.00 Aintree (Grand National): Daqman reduces the Grand National to a TOP TEN, which is precisely the number of finishers who earn prizemoney:
First, £500,000, second £200,000, third £100,000; then £65k, £40k, £30k, £20k, £15k, £10k, £5k.
1st NICK ROCKETT (Willie Mullins): In the good old bad old days, you always backed the Thyestes winner going to Aintree. The modern equivalent is the Bobbyjo. Nick Rockett has won both.
In January and February, he landed the Thyestes, and on the last day turned around his 2024 Irish Grand National defeat by Intense Raffles, by beating him in the Bobbyjo.
He has improved a stone since staying on well (3m 4f good) when third to Minella Cocooner in the 2024 Sandown Gold Cup.
He then had a break of 244 days before a quiet return, unfancied at 25-1 behind Perceval Legallois in the big race at Leopardstown over Christmas.
‘Percy’ himself has clearly improved but is from a Flat family and his stable has not produced the fireworks of the last two seasons.
2nd I AM MAXIMUS (Willie Mullins) Last year’s superb winner is 8lb higher and has missed his prep race. It was soft at Aintree 2024 and the National didn’t have the class of today’s line-up. But he’s Paul Townend’s choice, still only nine and talked up by Willie yesterday!
3rd GRANGECLARE WEST (Willie Mullins): Gets his place high up in the ratings because of his Irish Gold Cup second in February.
He closed down Galopin Des Champs on Savills Chase form in December and turned around the places with Fact To File, who has been pivotal in top-class races for a while now.
4th STUMPTOWN (Gavin Cromwell): I prefer Stumptown to stablemate Perceval Legallois because, after revealing himself a tough nut in banks races on the galloping track at Punchestown either side of the summer break, he showed a Tiger Roll finish to land the two Cheltenham cross-country tests over 3m 5f+ on different ground, as favourite each time, in December and March.
5th BEAUPORT (Nigel Twiston-Davies): What he had done in heavy ground to win the Midlands Grand National last Spring, he repeated on good ground in the Berkshire National at Ascot after a long break and hurdles preps since have kept his weight down for this.
That’s an old-style winning way by Nigel Twiston-Davies to win an Aintree Grand National, and he also runs Broadway Boy, Newbury Gold Cup runner-up to Kandoo Kid.
6th KANDOO KID (Paul Nicholls): won the Newbury Gold Cup (3m 2f) in November and took the Topham Trophy over the National fences. Likes the ground.
7th INTENSE RAFFLES (Thomas Gibney): the change of going may inhibit the Irish Grand National winner (heavy ground last Spring), who was outpointed by Nick Rockett in the Bobbyjo.
He could turn the tables at the Aintree weights but isn’t the slick jumper that Nick Rockett is, not to mention the stamina and constitution Nick showed to win the Bobbyjo so soon after the Thyestes.
LAYS LOGIC: Iroko is the name bandied around by some of the boys who make a living as ‘experts’ but, for a seven-year-old to win it, he has to be a Noble Yeats.
He has won only one chase and Grey Dawning, twice his conqueror, let the side down (again!) at Aintree on Thursday.
Betdaq Betting Exchange I Am Maximus 8.0, Stumptown 14.0, Kandoo Kid 26.0, Nick Rockett 30.0, Beauport 33.0, Grangeclare West 50.0
BUT CAN HE CATCH DAN SKELTON
⭕ 1.20 Aintree Dan Skelton goes for a hat-trick in this. Catch Him Derry has his ground today after an excellent third in the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham. BETDAQ 6.2 taken.
The Skelton team will want this in the bag before Willie Mullins tries to scoop the million-pound National.
⭕ 2.30 Aintree Connections of last year’s winner, Cruz Control, have plotted a repeat, fearing Imperial Saint, who is 111 at Aintree, two of them on good ground.
Can Cruz Control, then Strong Leader in the next, set the pattern of repeat winners before I am Maximus goes to post for his National double bid.
BETDAQ betting exchange Imperial Saint 5.0, Cruz Control 10.5 at 10.30 a.m
LEADER’S STRONGER THAN EVER
⭕ 3.05 Aintree (Liverpool Hurdle) LAYS LOGIC: Teahupoo’s defeat by old-timer Bob Olinger at Cheltenham, with Gordon Elliott stablemate, The Wallpark, third is a feature of the recent losing run by Elliott horses at the big meetings.
Olly Murphy’s Strong Leader won this last year from Buddy One and Hiddenvalley Lake and came back in November to beat Monmiral at Newbury.
Home By The Lee (aged 10) had beaten Bob Olinger in Graded races in the autumn and Kitzbuhel (only 5) is 2-2 since joining Willie Mullins from France. Both have extremes of age which raise question marks for this.
Like Kitzbuhel, Altobelli is raised in class and trip but Gwennie May Boy won over 3m at this meeting last year (Grade 3) and won the Rendlesham (Grade 2) at Haydock in February, up 23lb for the two.
WHO IS CELEBRATING BY NIGHT
⭕ 5.00 Aintree Yesterday’s winners at the festival, Jonbon and Gentleman De Mee, both won this novices chase, showing the value yet again (again) of course form at Aintree.
The only Grade-1 player in this race, L’Eau Du Sud, hit the front a bit soon at Cheltenham and was run out of the Arkle in a blanket finish behind Jango Baie, with Only By Night just overtaken on the run-in.
Kalif Du Berlais was 111311, still standing, when he prepped for the Spring festivals at Sandown in February but finished stone last over 2m 4f on the heavy ground.
Missed Cheltenham for this and drops back to 2m but Only By Night gets the mares’ allowance.
DAQMAN’S BETS on Betdaq Betting Exchange
🏆 GRAND NATIONAL 🏆
4.00 Aintree (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 3.75pts win STUMPTOWN
BET 1.75pts win and place NICK ROCKETT
BET 2pts win and place KANDOO KID
BET 1.6pts win and place BEAUPORT
SAVER 4pts win I AM MAXIMUS
★ 1.30 Aintree (win 30, nap)
BET 6pts win CATCH HIM DERRY
2.30 Aintree (both to win 20)
BET 5pts win IMPERIAL SAINT
BET 2pts win CRUZ CONTROL
3.05 Aintree (win 30)
BET 6pts win STRONG LEADER
5.00 Aintree (win 30, win 12)
BET 10pts win ONLY BY NIGHT
BET 5pts win KALIF DU BERLAIS
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
Did you know? DAQMAN’s tips are posted each and every day so he’s always on hand to help with your horse racing betting.
