4-1 NAP AS DAQMAN LANDS A HAT-TRICK: Daqman, who scored four naps from five in each of the first two weeks of the new year, completed a third-week hat-trick with a 4-1 stunner yesterday, Fields Of Glory, at Musselburgh. His three this week:
WON 11-10 Wicked Willy
WON 4-6 Westerner Lady (banker)
WON 4-1 Fields Of Glory
BANKER START AT HAYDOCK: Only Haydock survives on the jumps scene in England today but the races are very tricky tests for Cheltenham. Daqman, 10-4 ahead, has opened up a gap of 37 points on Pricewise of the Racing Post before they clash today in the 2.40 and 3.15. He starts the day with a banker.
LOG THIS ONE FOR CHELTENHAM
1.30 Haydock (Grade-2 novices’ chase) Notebooks at the ready; you can expect to be taking something out of this race. It’s a cracker. All bar the disappointing Maximiser and the Colin Tizzard hope Solatentif have already achieved 142-152.
The highly-rated quartet have scored 16 times, and the implication is that one of them will do at least as well as winners in the last two years, Bristol de Mai and Wakanda.
Winners of this have won the Arkle and the RSA. Bristol de Mai, the subsequent JLT runner-up at Cheltenham who runs in the Peter Marsh today, took it off 146, and Wakanda’s rise and rise to win the Ascot Silver Cup and the Rehearsal Chase started here on 133.
The runners-up to Waiting Patiently in his two autumn successes have both won since, and he is preferred to another northern winner, Bun Doran.
Its’afreebee, being aimed at the JLT, won from the front in two of his three starts. Such tactics would make him vulnerable here, and his stable is out of form (1-20).
Politologue is unbeaten in two starts over fences, including defeat of the bridesmaid Vintage Clouds (see Peter Marsh) over further on today’s course and, much better, of Rock The Kasbah, who had beaten recent Kempton scorer, Our Kaempfer, at Chepstow.
His trainer, Paul Nicholls, has never won this Cheltenham trial but Politologue seems to have the form edge on Waiting Patiently, despite giving a few pounds away. Both are exciting prospects for the festival but Politologue jumps and travels so well.
2.05 Haydock (Grade-2 novices’ hurdle) Festival notebooks out again! A Neptune winner and a Supreme Novices winner took this in 2010 and 2012.
Elgin, closely matched with Mohaayed, and Craggaknock (holds Master Of Finance) have beaten nothing well, and there’s not been much of note in Crievehill’s races.
So this could see the continued rise of Neon Wolf, unbeaten in, consecutively, a Point, a bumper and his maiden hurdle. Has an imposing look and style.
‘GIANT’ WAGER AT BETDAQ 11.0
2.40 Haydock (Champion Hurdle Trial) This is an enigma inside a puzzle. The New One, third, fourth and fifth in the Champion Hurdle, goes for a hat-trick in this, which will be his Champion Hurdle this season in that, at the age of nine, he hasn’t much chance at Cheltenham.
Fans of Yanworth, who beat him in the Christmas Hurdle will be hoping to see a good run, and Irving – also nine now – represents the four years younger, Apple’s Jade, whom he beat in the Fighting Fifth.
Though up two stone in the last year or so, Clyne still has to make up another 10lb to be competitive. Another sequence horse, but also a glass horse, Cyrus Darius, from the Waiting Patiently stable, is closer to them, if only he can reproduce his Grade-2 form of Spring 2015.
Around the same time, L’Ami Serge was winning the Tolworth Hurdle,and was fourth in the Supreme, but he’s spent most of his time chasing since then and has failed to score for a year now.
Verdict: The New One is unbeaten in three starts at Haydock, where Clyne has won his last two starts; Irving has also won here and been kept fresh since the Fighitng Fifth but is alarmingly easy to back at 7.0 this morning; the 18-hands–plus giant Cyrus Darius at 11.0 on BETDAQ will enjoy the strong pace and also goes well fresh.
You can choose from the three form horses and be wrong twice! The New One is there to be shot at in front at his age. So I’ll chance Cyrus Darius at a price. He built up a sequence, despite being a raw horse and still ‘could be anything’, now that he’s had time to mature.
BISHOPS ROAD LOOKS WELL IN
3.15 Haydock (Peter Marsh Chase) The very much hyped Alary – ‘he’s very good’, says trainer Tizzard – makes his first appearance in England, bought by the Potts after running a close second to French champion, Milord Thomas in a Grade 1 at Auteuil in November.
Alary will need to show some class here, giving between 7lb and 20lb in a race which usually goes to older, experienced horses.
There hasn’t been a seven-year-old winner for 20 years, and only three in the race’s entire history. It also has to be said that, since winning 15 months ago, Alary has been a bridesmaid in France with figures of 23023, though the change of stable could rejuvenate him.
Sue Smith, who has won it three times this century, saddles Vintage Clouds, half-brother to the very useful chaser Vintage Star, and by the same sire as Cloudy Too, who won this for her a year ago (Seventh Sky fourth).
But Vintage Clouds is another expensive bridesmaid, with six consecutive seconds, still standing, so has to improve.
O Maonlai, rested since winning at Newbury in November, goes well frewh but has never scored higher than class 3.
The Rowland Meyrick on Boxing Day was Definitly Red’s third win in four starts. He’s hiked to his highest mark today but is ‘a serious horse, who will do even better,’ according to trainer Brian Ellison.
Otago Trail, placed on this card a year ago, won the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle in November, but flopped in Ireland over Christmas; maybe he didn’t travel over well.
There seems no reason why Otago Trail should not confirm the Rehearsal running with Bristol De Mai (second) and Definitly Red (third) but the fourth horse, Bishops Road, is now well in with them all at the weights.
Virak, runner-up in this to Cloudy Too when only seven, is a year older and down 7lb on that, 10lb if you include Harry Cobden’s claim, but has to bounce back from a poor sixth in the Rehearsal..
Bishops Road defied a stone rise for scoring at Sandown last January by winning the Haydock Grand National Trial but was always struggling in the Welsh National over Christmas.
Sausalito Sunrise is down a few pounds and could be ready to return to the form of his Ascot Celebration Chase win and Sandown Gold Cup third last Spring with his stable back to form this week.
Verdict: Bristol De Mai has finished in the first two in all 10 starts over fences but his freegoing style leaves him vulnerable again. While Otago Trail, who beat him at Newcastle, fell apart at Leopardstown, the fourth horse from the Rehearsal, Bishops Road (10.5 BETDAQ), is well in now and it’s all-system go, says trainer Kerry Lee.
She, and the wizard Tizzard, have won most of the staying races this winter, and Bishops Road may have most to fear from Alary, if the hype is only half- right but I just need to see him run before I join the club.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points, except the banker)
BANKER BET 20pts win (nap) POLITOLOGUE (1.30 Haydock)
BACK 10pts win NEON WOLF (2.05 Haydock)
BACK 2pts win and place CYRUS DARIUS (2.40 Haydock)
BACK 2pts win and place BISHOPS ROAD (3.15 Haydock)
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