11.0 DAQMAN WINNER IN 50-POINT BULL’S-EYE BAG: Who Dares Wins? Not quite: the horse of that name was second for Daqman in the Chester Cup, but our man had already landed 50 points profit from a bold bull’s-eye bet in the previous race, spotted when available at a huge 11.0 on BETDAQ. It followed a Chester hat-trick on Thursday and two returns on the opening day.
WON 13-2 AQUARIUM (from 11.0 offers on BETDAQ)
That winner takes Daqman 16-9 clear of Pricewise
COLOSSAL BIG-RACE WEEKEND IN THREE COUNTRIES: Two days of big races! From hurdles to handicaps, trials to Classics, BETDAQ Tips will be covering them all. Don’t miss the Daqman analyses and value exchange suggestions for:
TODAY Victoria Cup at Ascot and Swinton Hurdle at Haydock, with Derby and Oaks trials at Lingfield and another three-year-old test, the Blue Wind Stakes at Naas. Headlines:
🔹 PRINCE FRANNY’S SOLO CELEBRATION
🔹 VAN DYCK BETDAQ VALUE FOR OVERS
🔹 CATCH ‘FISHER’ DESPITE THE WEIGHT
🔹 CHARLIE LINES UP GLORIOUS CHANCE
TOMORROW French 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas at Longchamp, plus the Irish Derby Trial and 1,000 Guineas Trial, both at Leopardstown.
PRINCE FRANNY’S SOLO CELEBRATION
Where’s Chester hero Franny Norton? The answer is that he has just ONE booked ride over the whole of Saturday and Sunday. But there’s another question-mark: will Oasis Prince (4.55 Haydock today) cope with the slow ground? I took 6.2 on BETDAQ.
Just how much Mark Johnston owes to Franny’s jockeyship was evident at Chester yesterday, when he landed me an 11.0 BETDAQ winner, then left me standing in second place for the Chester Cup with an enterprising ride on the winner.
Meanwhile, looking even further ahead, beyond the bonanza of racing in the next couple of days, Too Darn Hot looks likely to meet Ballydoyle hope Japan in the Dante Stakes trial for the Derby at York on Thursday.
Now read on for the Derby and Oaks tests at Lingfield and Naas this afternoon..
VAN DYCK BETDAQ VALUE FOR OVERS
1.55 Lingfield (Oaks Trial) An Oaks place or two but nothing special has emerged from this since the superb Midday (2009) for Sir Henry Cecil.
John Gosden and William Haggas, who have both won this trial twice since 2010, seem intent on success, running two each.
Could be the battle of the Frankels. Anapurna (at 4.7 for Gosden), Frankellina (Haggas) and King Power (Andrew Balding) all represent the 14-wins-in-a-row legend of the turf.
2.30 Lingfield (Derby Trial) Anthony Van Dyck is reckoned high enough in the Ballydoyle pecking order to warrant Derby quotes. He was 16.5 in the BETDAQ ante-post orange so, if you fancy him to win today, you could buy some ‘overs’ on the Derby before he’s tested this afternoon, and trade later.
But so far O’Brien has won this with only his ‘scouts’. His three successes in the decade all failed to win another race!
Anthony Van Dyck, who was four lengths off Too Darn Hot in the Dewhurst, faces three sons of Nathaniel, any one of them likely to step forward after their initial outing – Hiroshima, Nate The Great and Severance – as did their sire.
I can’t have the Pricewise tip Cap Francais after his coltish behaviour at Epsom on his return – he could be facing the ‘snip’ – and I dropped Themaxwecan from my Early Birds.
The stamina pedigree of the Sea The Stars colt Eagles By Day is interesting and, though she was run down by Mehdaayih in the Cheshire Oak, Manuela De Vega is a fair form boost for 22.0 BETDAQ offer Three Comets, who tried to give her 5lb at Pontefract in the autumn.
3.20 Naas (Blue Wind Stakes) This race produced Jim Bolger’s 2015 Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Pleascach, but Aidan O’Brien runs four of the seven starters today.
This is not his favourite trial – last year was only his second Blue Wind success – and this morning they were betting that the only four-year-old in the field, Who’s Steph, winner of two Classic trials last season, would give a stone away to the lot of them!
CATCH FISHER DESPITE THE WEIGHT
3.10 Haydock (Swinton Hurdle) The best ground today will probably be the jumping ground. Evan Williams farms this race. His form figures in the last four years are 114411, and he’s hoping that John Constable can regain the trophy he won in 2017 but he’s scored only once in the intervening two years.
This is an old-fashioned handicap with a 21lb range, and either Mister Fisher or Le Patriote would be only the second winner in 21 years to carry a big weight like theirs.
Nicky Henderson, who’s won it twice, has two against the field. As well as Mister Fisher, whose best form was over this Haydock CD in January in a Grade-2 novice, he has the keen-going Jenkins.
Jenkins drops back in trip, having led into the straight over half a mile further at Cheltenham, and is 8lb better off with the winner, Le Patriote. But Jenkins was ‘not wanted’ this morning at 50.0 on BETDAQ
There’s not a lot to choose between Nietzsche and Thistimenextyear on Aintree form. The same applies to Arthington and Cubswin on their recent one-two over the Haydock CD.
In the end I had to admit that Mister Fisher (BETDAQ 6.0) looks best of the exposed runners despite his weight and, of the unexposed sorts, Christopher Wood (9.6) had better form and scope than Sofia’s Rock.
CHARLIE LINES UP GLORIOUS CHANCE
4.00 Ascot (Victoria Cup) Double-figure stalls have won the last six; four-year-olds the last four. So maybe we’re already down to a short list of Glorious Journey, Cardsharp, Lake Volta, Blue Mist, Zap and George Of Hearts.
But that’s to ignore some course specialists, and soft-ground sorts, not to mention the one I nominated as Early Bird and then Fortune Cookie just for this race.
That pick was last year’s winner Rip Orff, who is 12lb higher but since then has been beaten only a length in the International and just two lengths, racing off a higher mark than today, in the Ascot Challenge Cup, all over his specialist 7f.
His Ascot form figures are 1312. He acts on soft but his three wins have all been on good to firm, whereas Glorious Journey, a Group performer in France (now gelded), has his ground. Charlie Appleby won this race with a similar sort with a big weight at 20-1 in 2016.
Lincoln runner-up, Kynren, and Cape Byron, who is well in at the weights with Rip Orff, will appreciate the conditions. Taurean Star has won in May for three years running, including with cut in the ground.
Remarkable could bounce back for David O’Meara, who landed four out of five this week, including a double at Chester. Similarly, Sanaadh has yet to fulfil his potential and fair flew from the back at Kempton in March.
I’ll take Blue Mist from the original stats list. He’s lightly raced and better than the bare form. The reverse is true of Presidential. He won five handicaps last term and finished well in his prep for this at the Craven meeting.
VERDICT: It looks like a race where the obvious and the exposed look vulnerable to ‘hidden’ horses: Blue Mist (14.5), Glorious Journey (15.0), Remarkable (24.0), Sanaadh (25.0) and Taurean Star (38.0), all great offers on BETDAQ.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.55 Lingfield (win 10)
BET 2.75pts win ANAPURNA
2.30 Lingfield (supernap)
BET 20pts win ANTHONY VAN DYCK
3.10 Haydock (win 50)
BET 10pts win MISTER FISHER
BET 5.75pts win CHRISTOPHER WOOD
4.00 Ascot (win 50)
BET 3.5pts win GLORIOUS JOURNEY
BET 2pts win and place REMARKABLE
BET 2pts win and place SANAADH
4.55 Haydock (win 20)
BET 4pts win OASIS PINCE
FORTUNE COOKIES
Ripp Orf 4.00 Ascot
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