DAQMAN’S WELCOME WIN AT ASCOT: After winners at 10-1, 4-1 and 11-10 (supernap) on Thursday, Daqman was straight back into the winner’s enclosure yesterday at Ascot with What A Welcome (WON 15-8) but his best of the rest was Mullionheir (2ND 10-1) in a finish across the width of the track for the finale.
HE’S 202 POINTS UP ON PRICEWISE: Today Daqman is back at Ascot and Kempton, as well as going North to Haydock for the Sprint. Daqman leads Pricewise 67-22 in feature races chosen by the Racing Post. Daqman is +104 with Pricewise –98, so there is a 202-point gap between them to single-unit stakes.
CRYSTAL ENABLES US TO GET A PRICE
2.05 Kempton This is the race that steals the Saturday show, despite so few runners, featuring as it does the return of the magnificent Enable, who won four Oaks, the 2017 King George and the Arc for this column last season.
Despite her long absence, it would have been an odds-on racecourse gallop for her, but for the decision to take her on with Crystal Ocean.
Though only second in this year’s King George, Crystal Ocean was raised 7lb, his rating being hiked by the 130 given to the winner, his stablemate, Poet’s Word.
Poet’s Word was soon to be put in his place by Roaring Lion in the International at York, and he struggled to hold the third, 109-rated Thundering Blue.
Poet’s Word’s stablemate, Ulysses, was twice beaten between three and five lengths by Enable yet finished the season off 126 with Enable 128.
If the Enable we saw last season turns out again today, in receipt of 8lb from Crystal Ocean (he’s on 129), then we’ll be thanking Crystal Ocean for making the price for us. I think you’ll get seven for every 10.
SPENCER BACK ON BOARD GILGAMESH
2.45 Ascot This is a longer handicap than many these days, and only one recent winner has carried more than 9st or been older than five.
Not a single winning favourite in the decade and Cape Byron’s best form is on soft. Though the ground stays firm for Ripp Orf, and Jason Watson’s 3lb claim puts him within a pound of his last winning mark, he’s had 12 starts this year.
Going right back to the Victoria Cup over today’s CD on firm in May, he beat the 2017 Royal Hunt Cup winner Zhui Feng by a neck in receipt of 22lb.and is 4lb worse off.
Snag is that Zhui Feng’s yard is badly missing strike and reaches for blinkers for him today, while Ripp Orf has improved and never runs a bad race.
Also winning around that time was Gilgamesh, whose recent efforts (hampered, not clear run) can be ignored. They mean that he’s still off a competitive mark and Jamie Spencer, who could have ridden half a dozen of today’s field, is the right man to weave a clear passage. He won three times on Gilgamesh last season.
Gilgamesh’s young trainer George Scott has James Garfield (Frankie Dettori) in the big one at Haydock. Seldom, if ever, can a small stable have given itself two better big-race chances under two more in-form jockeys.
At the same time, one of the training veterans, David Elsworth, lines up two chances against rising star Scott, with Ripp Orf and Sir Dancealot. For this one, I took 9.2 Gilgamesh and 8.2 Ripp Orf in the BETDAQ orange.
HOME JAMES, THE NEW SPRINT ANGEL
5.15 Haydock Sprint It is to be hoped that the ITV raving team (sorry, that should be ‘racing’) have learned their lesson after hollering for Harry Angel before his Diamond Jubilee debacle in the stalls and beating the bongo drums (Battaash! Battaash!) before that one flopped (only fourth) in the Nunthorpe.
The plain truth is that, because of their quirks, this season’s ‘star’ sprinters are not unbeatable. Since they live on the edge like all explosive speed merchants, there is no betting edge for punters.
Harry looks vulnerable again to a new flying angel. Waiting in the wings (that’s actually mixing your metaphor, Daqman!) are James Garfield, Eqtidaar, Gustav Klimt and Sands Of Mali, who are all three-year-olds, just like the last four winners of this race!
In fact, only three four-year-olds, like Harry Angel and the late improver Sir Dancelot, have won today’s Sprint this century.
The essential ingredient today – a preference for soft ground – favours Harry, who won this race last year on heavy (Tasleet second, The Tin Man third).
But James Garfield, too, had The Tin Man well beaten in third when a half-length runner-up to Polydream at Deauville in August (Brando behind).
Sands Of Mali, who was also in rear at Deauville, has won on heavy yet was only half a length off Eqtidaar on the very fast Royal Ascot surface in the Commonwealth Cup (Speak In Colours well back).
Eqtidaar ran well on the soft at Ascot in the Spring and Gustav Klimt, who was behind the 7f horse Sir Dancealot on the last day, drops back to 6f for the first time, and has also scored on heavy.
VERDICT: Second last year Tasleet has kept away from the hard ground of this summer, and others with lighter seasons (two to four runs) are Eqtidaar, Harry Angel and The Tin Man (needs a sound surface).
But, with the favourite 5-4, and faced with juggling between a set of big sprint performers who subsequently have black marks against them or have placed too many times without winning, I take the supplemented improvers James Garfield (14.0 early mouse) and Sir Dancealot (12.5).
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.05 Kempton (SP)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win ENABLE
2.45 Ascot (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 7pts win RIPP ORF
BULL’S-EYE BET: 6pts win GILGAMESH
3.35 Haydock (win 20)
BET 5.5pts win MAM’SELLE
4.15 Haydock (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 4.25pts win SIR DANCEALOT
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3.75pts win JAMES GARFIELD
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