PUNTERS FACE BIG HURDLES ONLY four runners for the Hattons Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse tomorrow but, if it’s anything like the seven in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle today, it’s not that easy.
BULLS’-EYE BIDS FOR GOLD: Daqman skips the Fighting Fifth and concentrates on the Gerry Feilden and the Newbury Gold Cup, for which he has two bulls-eye bets
GREMLINS: Daqman apologises for the later than planned update today. Technical gremlins 🙁
TWINJETS POWER BOOSTED
⭕ 12.40 Newbury: Jonjo O’Neill won it last year and, after his £40,000 Wetherby win, Genois was earmarked for this Newbury race but connections were hardly encouraged to see the second horse home that day, Galop De Chasse, beaten favourite here yesterday, eight lengths third behind the 146-rated winner though getting 8lb.
Nine-year-olds like Farceur Du Large and Le Milos don’t win this. Le Milos landed a gamble in the 2022 Gold Cup later on today’s card but hasn’t scored down at this trip or shorter since February, 2021.
Twinjets (Nicholls) ran second to Masaccio here at the beginning of the month, so there was money for him this morning after Masaccio’s good run, second to The Jukebox Man here yesterday.
SPRING NOTE UNEXPOSED
⭕ 1.54 Newbury: Huge recent SPs for winners of this 2m 4.5f handicap hurdle: 12-1 and 28-1 (both Dan Skelton’s), 20-1 (for Paul Nicholls) and 14-1 (Nigel Twiston-Davies).
What makes a long-shot possible today is that previous winning trainers Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls each have two or more runners, and their second-strings could give us the chance of a winning outsider.
The likely favourite is Henderson’s Impose Toi (ridden by James Bowen), winner twice after a break and four out of six as favourite.
With Nico De Boinville at Newcastle for the Fighting Fifth, Henderson has booked Charlie Deutsch (Gentle Slopes), David Bass (Spring Note) and Freddie Gordon (No Ordinary Joe) for his outside chances.
Spring Note likes Newbury, has won three between 2m and 2m 3f but the Mahler mare is bred to get 3m, so there’s scope for progress.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 5 Impose Toi, 19.5 Spring Note
DRINKS ARE ON THE ASTON
⭕ 2.25 Newbury (Gerry Feilden Hurdle): Nicky Henderson is 3-5 (and 4-10) in this, his winners including subsequent Christmas Hurdle and Champion Hurdle winner, Epatante.
Of his pair Aston Martini (I get it!) has crashed in price with bookies, though is still a tempting 8.2 on BETDAQ as I write.
Can David Bass improve on Nico De Boinville’s ride at Bangor first run back for Aston Martini (pictured below) ?
The five-year-old mare jinked to the right and the reins slipped through Nico’s hands. She was 3-4 in her first season and only Navajo Indy has been backed to beat her.
She is a steady improver but this is a big leap in quality of company. I took 8.2 offers on BETDAQ about Aston Martini.
SHE IS THE VICCTORINO
⭕ 3.00 Newbury (Gold Cup): It’s 15 years since Paul Nicholls won this (when it was called the Hennessy) via Gold Cup holder, Denman.
The numerically-champion trainer badly needs the £142k winner’s prize if he is to take the earnings title against Dan Skelton (already around half a million in front) and Willie Mullins.
Nicholls has left in only Kandoo Kid, Greatwood Gold Cup runner-up on the course in the Spring before his third in the Topham Trophy.
Dan Skelton, who had the winner in 2022 with Le Milos, runs 17.0 outsider Midnight River, prominent when falling at the 14th a year ago, and Galia Des Liteaux (11.5), odds-on beaten favourite at Newbury last Christmas.
Jamie Snowden, who saddled the surprise 16-1 winner last year, now relies on Colonel Harry (11.5), who won just two small-field novice chases last winter.
There’s likely to be late money for the six-year-old Vicctorino, not seen on a racecourse since winning back-to-back Grade-3 handicap chases in November-December last year.
Vicctorino is trained by Venetia Williams, who would love to add this prize to the £117k just won with Royal Pagaille. A quarter of a million and more in two weekends would put put Venetia right up their seeing stars!
FIGHTING TALK BUT NO ACTION
⭕ 3.20 Newcastle I’ll leave out the Fighting Fifth (2.10) as it looks a coin flip and is priced accordingly. Both Mystical Power and Sir Gino bring superb form to the table and should dominate accordingly. Both trainers are in good early season form too, so it might just come down to tactics and rub of the green. A race for Daqman to watch without getting involved in today.
I thought there were a couple of bets in the concluding class 1 handicap chase where I wanted to be against the favourite The Changing Man whose jumping has a big question mark for me and indeed found him out last time out at Wincanton where he came to grief at the 16th. The Newcastle fences are by no means easy and he might have to wait further for a first win over fences.
Both Bowtogreatness and Gustavian look viable alternatives and I shall play them both for a WIN 20 return. Bowtogreatness jumped really well when making all the running at Newbury last time out and could be hard to peg back if allowed to dominate again.
Gustavian has only managed one win over fences but gets a break from the handicapper today and ran with credit when third in the Badger Beer at Wincanton last time. This looks a slightly easier assignment.
DAQMAN’S BETS
12.40 Newbury (win 10)
BET 3.0pts win TWINJETS
1.54 Newbury (win-50 bull’s-eye bet, win 20)
BET 2.75pts win SPRING NOTE
BET 5pts win IMPOSE TOI
2.25 Newbury (win-50 bull’s-eye bet, nap)
BET 7pts win ASTON MARTINI
3.00 Newbury (win 50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 7pts win VICCTORINO
BET 6pts win KANDOO KID
3.20 Newcastle (both win 20)
BET 2.7pts win GUSTAVIAN
BET 2.6pts win BOWTOGREATNESS
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