NAP WINS IN ANOTHER DAY OF PROFIT THIS WEEK: Daqman made another 25 points profit on the day yesterday, including an even-money nap, after making 17 points on Tuesday (involving an 11-4 nap) and 27 points on Wednesday. Yesterday’s winners:
WON 7-2 LAH TI DAR
WON 1-1 KINKS (nap)
EARLIER: Maybride (WON 6-1), Soliloquy (WON 4-1), Aurum (WON 11-4), Mildenberger (WON 11-4, nap), Old Persian (WON 5-2).
DAQMAN’S 622-1 CUP-AND-NATIONAL DOUBLE BID: Daqman shot well clear of Pricewise in the week, going 14-3 for winners and almost 70 points (Daqman +40.75, Pricewise –28.75) to a single unit on each of their selections at SP. Today is Newbury Spring Cup and Scottish National day, on which he always tries some ambitious doubles. The biggest muiltiple from his selections is 24.0 x 26.0, which works out at 622-1.
THERE’S GOLD IN ROBBER RAID
2.20 Ayr (Novices’ Championship Chase) A top-of-the-ground winner, foiled by the soft when fourth in the Ladbrokes Trophy (ex Hennessy Gold Cup), Braqueur d’Or (gold robber) was marked in my Fortune Cookies as a Paul Nicholls’ champion in the making.
I said we’d have to wait to back him until the ground dried out, and here he is at 9.8 in the BETDAQ orange this morning.
2.55 Ayr (Scottish Champion Hurdle) You want a horse aged five or six (7-10), 10st 9lb or lower (7-10) which – in today’s conditions – likes top of the ground.
Delete soft-surface races and Cheltenham, and you get form for Verdana Blue of 114013 in good, good-to-soft. Beyond The Clouds beat Claimantakinforgan in the Musselburgh trial yet is now better off at the weights.
Flashing Glance has never run a bad race but his Ludlow success after a wind op suggests that he’s ready to climb to another level.
His trainer, Tom Lacey, had two winners at Aintree, affirming his ability to place them right for festivals. He was 15.0 on BETDAQ this morning, with Beyond The Clouds 7.8.
THE 17.0 VIEW BEYOND VICENTE
4.05 Ayr (Coral Scottish Grand National) Paul Nicholls seems confident of a hat-trick for Vicente in this Scottish National.
Everything is right except the shortish price for such a feat, which needs to quantify a huge amount of luck, handed freely for three years running.
Vicente is still only nine and better off in the handicap with the second and third last year, Cogry and Benbens, when the going was described as ‘good’, and the race was fast run, thanks to Cogry’s strong pace.
The grey Vintage Clouds (7th) and the recent West Wales National winner, Henry Parry Morgan (9th), were well beaten.
Ballyoptic (fourth in the RSA) was a 162 over hurdles at one stage, and steps up in trip over fences today off his lowest mark for 13 races.
Gordon Elliott set Davy Russell on a Tiger Roll at Aintree and he won the Grand National for this column. Now here’s a youngster, Fagan, for the yard, second twice in top novice company, including behind Black Corton.
Gold Present was in cracking form before Christmas and could bounce back on the better ground, though he is not bred for a trip and Nicky Henderson is not a lucky trainer in a National.
Nicky’s supposed second string, Beware The Bear, was well behind Label Des Obeaux when they met here as novices a year ago.
Some bookies halved Label des Obeaux’s price during support for him earlier in the week and the Alan King yard had two winners yesterday.
Two quick March wins, including the Midlands Grand National, must surely take its toll on Regal Flow, and it’s two years since Henri Parry Morgan was able to produce back-to-back power drives.
Glencairn View has been hit by the handicapper for winning the novice final at Navan but is a youngster on the upgrade and looked a future National horse that day. Has had a month to get himself right again for this.
The blot on the handicap if Neil Mulholland has him right is The Young Master, down 19lb (including Sam Waley-Cohen’s 3lb allowance) since his last win in a Grade 3, albeit two years ago. Conditions are perfect.
Order in: 1 Glencairn View (17.0 BETDAQ offers), 2 The Young Master (17.0), 3 Label Des Obeaux (24.0), 4 Vicente (10.0 stakes saver to cover the three bets)
LET’S ALL DANCE WITH GAVOTA
2.35 Newbury (Fred Darling) This once essential fillies’ Classic trial has winners these days from as low as a 79 rating right through to 94 and 107; you don’t know what you’ve got.
If the last five years are anything to go by, not a lot! Those successful in this have produced only TWO wins in total after the event, a shocking indictment.
No wonder someone like Sir Michael Stoute chooses a racecourse gallop. No way do you want to expose your nervous filly who needs educating and careful handling. All the money this morning was for Gavota.
3.10 Newbury (Greenham) This is miles better than the Fred Darling. Winners in the decade have included top milers of Team Hannon’s. Not to mention Frankel and Kingman!
The question today is whether Expert Eye can do what Roaring Lion was meant to do and failed.
There was the unexposed Masar waiting in the wings to stick the thorn in the lion’s foot as he got back on stage.
But only Raid here is similarly untried and untested but that first-time hood puts you right off against the top five who are all rated over 100.
TONY CURTIS DESPITE BIG WEIGHT
3.45 Newbury (Spring Cup) Winners come from the bottom half of the handicap (8-10 below 9st), where one or two stand out on jockey bookings, but there seem to be better quality horses in the top half this year, namely Tony Curtis and Afaak.
Gilgamesh completed four wins in a row last Spring and has had a run back, but doesn’t have a brilliant draw (stalls 1-12 are eight out of 10).
William Buick takes over on Gilgamesh, with Jamie Spencer, who won three on him, seemingly preferring Keyser Soze, and with trainer George Scott admitting that the Victoria Cup, then the Royal Hunt Cup, are the Gilgamesh targets.
Keyser Soze, 26.0 on BETDAQ this morning, scored twice after a break last Spring, and started as short as 8-1 for the Britannia at Royal Ascot. Goes well fresh.
Ballard Down slammed a strong benchmark in Master The World on the July Course on soft last season but was disappointing when strongly fancied for the Lincoln.
Afaak (8.2 offers) might have won the Lincoln but wasn’t quite ready. He had been beaten only half a length by the Lincoln winner, Addeyb, in the Silver Cambridgeshire, and his ability to get further than a mile should allow him to finish late and fast today.
Tony Curtis (12.0 offers) was just pipped by Master The World in the Goodwood mile (soft), indicating that the missing ingredients in his struggle for Group form were a fast pace and cut in the ground. He surely gets both today.
Silvestre De Sousa tries to get more out of Repercussion, fifth in the Lincoln (Leader Writer behind).
Humbert was second in the Spring Mile (Taqdeer returning after long absence). His reward? A 4lb rise.
Order in 1 Tony Curtis, 2 Afaak, 3 Keyser Soze (win and place).
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.20 Ayr (to win 30)
BET 3.5pts win BRAQUEUR D’OR
2.55 Ayr (to win 30)
BET 4.4pts win BEYOND THE CLOUDS
BET 2pts win and place FLASHING GLANCE
2.35 Newbury (to win 20)
SUPERNAP: 11pts win GAVOTA
3.10 Newbury (SP)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win EXPERT EYE
3.45 Newbury (to win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 7pts win TONY CURTIS
BULL’S-EYE BET 6.75pts win AFAAK
BULL’S-EYE BET 2pts win and place KEYSER SOZE
4.05 Ayr (to win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3pts win GLENCAIRN VIEW
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3pts win THE YOUNG MASTER
BULL’S-EYE BET: 2pts win and place LABEL DES OBEAUX
BET 1pt win VICENTE (stakes saver)
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