BETDAQ GAMBLE: MAESTRO LANDS 6-1 WINNER: Daqman was in on a Nicky Henderson gamble at Newbury yesterday taking 7.2 on BETDAQ, better than 6-1, about Maestro Royal (WON 7-2). He added to his score with another nice price in Ireland last night:
WON 7-2 Maestro Royal (Newbury) 7.2 BETDAQ
WON 9-2 Sign of The Zodiac (Dundalk)
BETDAQ GAMBLES: 10.0 & 17.0 MEYDAN MAGIC: Today Daqman relies on super-confident jockey of the moment, ‘magic man’ Joao Moreira, to land him a big-odds winner at the Meydan World Cup meeting at 10.0 or 17.0 (or both!) on BETDAQ. Our man goes into the meeting with the season’s scores (only eight days left) Daqman 21 Pricewise 14 (- 7 and – 11 to single-unit stakes).
POSTPONED ONE OF MEYDAN BANKERS
Stick to turf. It’s much easier to check out what you know on turf at Meydan today than on the Dubai dirt. The good thing on dirt is Arrogate (4.45), described as the new Frankel (what else would they say), but I’m going for big odds in the turf races.
Saeed Bin Suroor (four) and Aidan O’Brien (two) have won six UAE Derbys (1.25) altogether in the decade, but their winners had little or no context in past performance at home or in our future Flat-season reckonings.
Ditto the runners today, including O’Brien’s Lancaster Bomber (Ryan Moore) and Saeed Bin Suroor’s Thunder Snow (Christophe Soumillon).
My pick on Dirt to meet the challenge of Pricewise are 11.45 Sharp Azteca, 1.25 Lancaster Bomber, 2.35 Cool Cowboy. 4.45 Arrogate (Dirt banker). My turf banker is Postponed (see below).
BETDAQ 10.0 THE AMAZING JOCKEY
12.50 Meydan (Gold Cup) You can get a good measure of form past for this Gold Cup, which has produced all-European winners from England, France and Ireland.
Among races key to their success were the Prix Royal Oak, the Irish St Leger and Goodwood Cup, and today you have Sheikhzayedroad (Doncaster Cup, Long Distance Cup), Vazirabad Royal Oak), Quest For More (Prix Du Cadran) and Big Orange (Goodwood Cup) in the line-up.
In the trial for this, Beautiful Romance beat the odds-on Vazirabad here a month back, with Sheikhzayedroad third, Basateen fourth and Zamaam sixth.
Last year in this Vazirabad beat Big Orange (Frankie Dettori now replaces Jamie Spencer, who switches to Quest For More).
But racereaders of the trial quoted on the Racing Post website declared: ‘There should be no banking on Vazirabad turning the form around in the cup. Beautiful Romance is a really smart mare.’ I took 7.4 on BETDAQ.
2.00 Meydan (Sprint) Ertjaal and Jungle Cat finished close up second and fourth in this last year, after Ertjaal had won the sprint at the January festival.
Ertjaal won it again this year and went on to beat Jungle Cat easily in the Meydan Sprint in February, stretching his sequence to six from seven.
July Cup hero (when Washington DC was fourth) and Prix De La Foret winner, Limato, is saddled against him now by Henry Candy with a 2lb-3lb advantage, according to which set of ratings you read. But rain may have spoiled his chances.
Jockey Joao Moreira brings to the table staggering form figures from Happy Valley and Sha Tin for 12 different trainers, including the Hong Kong Derby:
103121321410312211014130211
He rides 10.0 BETDAQ offer Amazing Kids and tells the world: I’m fully confident about the horse beneath me. We have an amazing chance!’
MAGIC MOREIRA AGAIN AT 17.0
3.30 Meydan (Dubai Turf) Japan is two out of three in this and Vivios’ yard has booked Moreira so, with Amazing Kids and Vivios (17.0 on BETDAQ) , I am banking on getting at least one winner out of the jockey in form.
Vivios won a Grade-1 fillies’ championship at Kyoto on turf (form) in October and had a run back a month ago
French Derby runner-up, Zarak won a Group-3 at Meydan in February. Ribchester’s pedigree suggests he should be happy with the extra trip after his sequence last season which kicked off with 2,000 Guineas third, Jersey Stakes win and Sussex Stakes third.
4.05 Meydan (Sheema Classic) Postponed bids for back-to-back Classics after having Highland Reel behind in fourth last year, and with a couple of pounds pull over Prize Money, who beat him a neck in the Dubai City of Gold three weeks back. Postponed was boxed in and not as race fit as his rival.
Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs, third in the Champion Stakes of October 2015, is having only his third race since, last time out third again in the Champion, with the handicapper dropping him 3lb
Seventh Heaven would probably win this on her defeat of Found in the Yorkshire Oaks but was a disappointing favourite in the fillies’ and mares’ championship at Ascot in October.
12.5 GRAND TURINA A HIDDEN HORSE
Go for big BETDAQ offers at Newbury. Some of the racing sandwiched by Cheltenham and Aintree has a very slim slice of meat, albeit the £100,000 meeting at Kelso (averaging only six runners a race) has also suffered from the heavy ground.
So I am staying at Newbury, where I have 3.35 Templier (17.5) and bets at 7.8, 12.5 and 15.0 in the two races below:
1.50 Newbury Call Me Vic, Cloudy Too, Coolking, and Pete The Feat have all front-run in the past, so there could be a cuthroat pace on goodish ground for this marathon.
Coolking has shot 30lb up the handicap in three winningµ runs this year! But on this ground I fancy Killalla Quay at 7.8 on BETDAQ, back to form after a breathing op.
3.00 Newbury (Mares NH Novices Hurdle Finale) You need a recent winner from the bottom half of the handicap, aged five or six (9-10).
Nicky Henderson has won four in the decade but Oliver Sherwood broke his run with back-to-back wins in 2008-9, and his Hitherjacques Lady is likely to be in the front rank for a long way here.
But two mares look saved up for this: Henderson’s Theatre Territory (15.0) and Venetia Wiliams’s Grand Turina (12.5), second to Supreme Novice third, River Wylde, over 2m at Ludlow.
Grand Turina is nevertheless a ‘hidden horse’, as a daughter of KayTara. She should improve no end for this step up in trip.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 30 points, except bankers and bull’s-eye bets)
BET 4.5pts win BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE (12.50 Meydan)
BET 4.4pts win KILLALA QUAY (1.50 Newbury)
BULL’S-EYE BET (to win 50): 5pts win AMAZING KIDS (2.00 Meydan)
BULL’S-EYE BETS: 4.3pts win GRAND TURINA and 3.5pts win THEATRE TERRITORY (3.00 Newbury)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3pts win VIVIOS (3.30 Meydan)
BET 1.8pts win and place TEMPLIER (3.35 Newbury)
MEYDAN TURF BANKER: 20pts win (nap) POSTPONED (4.05 Meydan)
MEYDAN BANKER DOUBLE: Postponed (4.05) and Arrogate (4.45)
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