THREE WINNING NAPS OUT OF FOUR: Daqman made it three winning naps out of four, all at odds against, when Djelo went clear of his field at Ascot yesterday by six lengths and 16. The horse he beat at Newbury on the first of the month, Persian Time, scored earlier at Ascot yesterday, making Djelo a banker.
WON 6-5 DJELO (Friday nap: 108)
WON 15-8 BRAVE KINGDOM (Wednesday nap: 107)
WON 6-4 ARCLIGHT (Tuesday nap: 106 this year)
Daqman 11, Pricewise 3
BOXING DAY UPDATE: Royal Pagaille misses the King George due to a sore foot, leaving six probables. Check out BETDAQ ante-post and see you then!
đ MERRY CHRISTMAS đ
FAMOUS DOUBLE FOR RICHARDS?
â 1.30 Haydock (Tommy Whittle Chase) I was on Enqarde (WON 8-1) in the last renewal of this race, one of two Richard Newland winners over nine years.
The trainer has returned Engarde to something like that form, with a win at Warwick in November, helped by another wind op.
Heâs 10lb lower than when penalised for his Tommy Whittle win, and he did score twice six weeks apart at this time in 2020-21.
I have already talked about Famous Bridge, who gives way to team-mate Houston Texas in the Rowland Meyrick on Boxing Day. What a double it would be, restoring the name of Nicky Richards to the top table!
Famous Bridge beat Credo here at Haydock 28 days back. They seem about level on form on that run and the handicapper agrees but around 3-1 Famous Bridge looks tasty.
ITâS TIGHT: A BLACK-BALL GAME
â 1.50 Ascot Triple Trade and Cap Du Mathan are so exposed that the handicapper has them bang to rights, witness their form with Boothill alone.
But finding an alternative is not easy when four of the five remaining all pulled up last time out. The exception, Harperâs Brook, has never been placed in senior races.
Conor OâDwyer sends El Barra on an 800-mile round trip from Kildare, unphased by his 12st top weight. The Galway Plate third is dropping back into handicaps after a Graded-race stint.
So, too, is Black Gerry, a Westerner, who won here on this ground in April, and backed it up by winning the Sussex Champion Stakes, giving 18lb to the runner-up.
Shan Blue has yet to bounce back after a bad fall, and Eden Du Houxâs return to form depends on his fourth wind surgery.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 8.3 or so around Black Gerry, 23.0 El Barra
MOORE HAS MORE VALUE HERE
â 2.25 Ascot (Long Walk Hurdle) Champ (2021) and Paisley Park (2022) came back to win this as âold menâ. Incredibly, both return again today, both aged 12 on January 1, aided and abetted by Dashel Drasher, who will be 11.
Itâs a close-run thing between the three. There was a neck between Champ and Paisley Park at Newbury (levels) last November and a head last month in the same race between Dashel Drasher and Paisley Park, who is 6lb better off today.
Gary Moore, who trains Black Cherry in the 1.50, will try to break hearts as usual with the front-running Goshen in this, but itâs just the gambit stablemate Botox Has needs.
He beat Dashel Drasher nearly 6 lengths giving 4lb at Wetherby in the West Yorkshire Hurdle last month, so could be said to be the form horse, though beware a never-say-die run by one of the old boys.
BETDAQ value: 9.5 Dashel Drasher, 9.8 Botox Has
NEWS FLASH! THREAT TO MAGIC
â 3.00 Ascot (Autumn Silver Cup Chase) Anthony Honeyball, who won this twice with Regal Encore (at 16-1 and 20-1) between 2016 and 2019, has the favourite, or one of them, this time around.
Blackjack Magic, at 5.2 on BETDAQ this morning, was being closely followed by Yeah Man 6.2 and Victtorino 5.9, despite the 11-horse field, of which five were winners last time out.
Blackjack Magic made it three out of three, still standing, for Honeyball in the Badger Beer, resisting the gambled-on Threeunderthrufive and Frodon, both from the Paul Nicholls yard.
Nicholls has a line here to Flash Collonges, who has has never been out of the frame in 10 races, still standing: 1F2113P22231F.
But, given a rating of 145 to open his chasing career, this dwindled to a dangerous-looking 130 by the time he got off the mark over fences at Newbury in March. Now on 134; drying wind in his favour.
Yeah Man was receiving 10lb from the winner, Victtorino, when, only two lengths down, he fell at the last here at Ascot in the Autumn Gold Cup.
The revised weights have them dead level but that was Vicctorinoâs third chase victory – all on the soft – whereas Yeah Man has still to get off the mark over fences and won only one hurdle, his maiden.
His stablemate, the grey Hascoeur Clermont, is a soft-heavy horse, whose defeat at Cheltenham of Chambard was given a big lift when that one took the Becher Chase though, again, we are talking âlight weight on heavy groundâ.
Flegmatik has placed twice at Ascot on soundish surfaces but has failed to score in eight consecutive starts over fences since the Spring of last year. No visible improvement, maintaining a ratings average of 137. He is (or rather âwasâ) best at Kempton on good ground.
It wouldnât take much for Make Me A Believer to get me onside. He is a hidden horse, by Presenting out of a Robin Des Champs mare.
He beat the 10-lengths Wincanton winner, My Silver Lining, at Exeter last month, before that one was four-lengths runner-up, giving 9lb at Sandown, to a decent sort called Animal, who chooses between Wincanton and Aintree on Boxing Day.
BETDAQ value: 5 Blackjack Magic, 15 Flash Collonges, 19 Make Me A Believer
DAQMANâS BETS
1.30 Haydock (win 20, nap)
BET 7pts win FAMOUS BRIDGE
1.50 Ascot (win 20)
BET 3pts win BLACK GERRY
BET 1pt win and place EL BARRA
2.25 Ascot (win-50 bullâs-eye bets)
BET 5.75pts win DASHEL DRASHER
BET 5.75pts win BOTOX HAS
3.00 Ascot (win-50 bullâs-eye bets)
BET 3.5pts win and 1pt place FLASH COLLONGES
BET 2.75pts win and 1pt place MAKE ME A BELIEVER
BET 5pts to win 20 BLACKJACK MAGIC
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