FIVE DAQMAN WINNERS IN THREE DAYS: You’ve got to hand it to him! After landing two winners out of three bets on each day, Wednesday and Thursday, Daqman continued his run with a Friday nap.
Friday
WON 1-1 HAND OF GOD (nap) BETDAQ 2.69 taken
Thursday
WON 11-2 SERIOUS EGO BETDAQ XSP 7.31
WON 13-8 TAKE NO CHANCES
Wednesday
WON 5-2 MEATLOAF
WON 6-4 GUNSIGHT RIDGE BETDAQ 3.0 taken
COBDEN KING: TRAINERS DECIDE TODAY: Prize by prize, race by race, Daqman today takes you through the trainers’ championship confrontation of the three contenders. There is already a new champion among the jockeys: Harry Cobden sealed his first title with a double yesterday and cannot now be caught by Sean Bowen.
SECRET OF THE TITLE RACE
LAST LAP for the Jumps-trainers’ title at Sandown today has Willie Mullins (£3,116,171) in pole position from Dan Skelton (£2,934,539) and Paul Nicholls (£2,863,622). GOING: a mix of ‘good’ and ‘good to soft’.
⭕ 1.50 Sandown (£51,440) Novices Championship Final: 2m Past results: Paul Nicholls two of the last four winners, both favourite.
DAN SKELTON Be Aware (Harry Skelton), Goonhilly (Tristan Durrell 3)
PAUL NICHOLLS Fire Flyer (Harry Cobden), Panjari (Freddie Gingell 5)
🐿️ DAQMAN: Secret Squirrel The grey Be Aware has been beaten favourite twice, by a neck in his Lingfield heat for this (2m) and then over 2m 5f at Kempton; both winners of those races have fluffed their lines since.
Fiercely Proud won his qualifier at Taunton in December and been placed twice in Grade-2 novice company this year. He had beaten Court In The Act easily in November.
Fire Flyer, who just held Secret Squirrel at Taunton in February, the pair clear, then failed to act in soft-heavy on today’s course the last day, and he wouldn’t want the forecast showers to be heavy.
But Secret Squirrel was back at Taunton earlier this month, slamming Helnwein five lengths and the revised weights don’t look to be enough for the runner-up.
Secret Squirrel’s dam was related to a Champion Hurdle runner-up and her dam’s sire, Double Trigger, was the most popular Flat stayer in training, winning in sequence the Henry 11 Stakes (here), Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Doncaster Cup.
EASY GAME BIG-VALUE NAP
⭕ 2.25 Sandown (£45,560) Oaksey Chase, 2m 6.5f Past results: Paul Nicholls three of the last four, all favourite.
PAUL NICHOLLS Hitman (Harry Cobden)
WILLIE MULLINS Easy Game (Paul Townend)
DAQMAN: Easy Game It’s six years since the favourite was beaten in this but whoever ends up leading the market won’t be on a level with two recent winners, Frodon and Hewick.
Paul Nicholls, responsible for three in a row, including Frodon and Black Corton, now tries blinkers on Hitman, beaten here three times in a row and without success since November 2022 in a four-horse graduation chase.
Since November 2020, Ga Law has won only at Cheltenham. This applies also to The Real Whacker (Cheltenham 111P2P).
Easy Game won four in a row (April to July 2022) and four in a row again (September 2022 to June 2023), so figures of 1110111-101, the last win when beating Gentlemansgame at Gowran in a small field like this one.
NOT-SO-FABIOLO JUMPING
⭕ 3.00 Sandown (£96, 815) Celebration Chase, 1m 7.5f Past results: Paul Nicholls two of the last three.
WILLIE MULLINS El Fabiolo (Paul Townend)
DAN SKELTON Nube Negra (Harry Skelton)
DAQMAN: Jonbon Jonbon won this last year and went on to a second Tingle Creek and did the double over Edwardstone in the autumn.
Dodging the stable woes and missing the Champion Chase, he came back to form over the extra distance of the 2m 4f Melling Chase at Aintree.
Meanwhile, El Fabiolo made it six chases on the trot – some times AT the trot – including defeat of Jonbon in the 2023 Arkle, and his rating has surged to 5lb better than Jonbon’s with a year in hand!
LAYS LOGIC: The difference today is the confidence they can have in Jonbon’s stamina after the 20f triumph at Aintree, while El Fabiolo returns from jumping mistakes at Cheltenham when he was pulled up.
AMIRITE FOR THE LIMELIGHT
⭕ 3.35 Sandown Gold Cup (£95,659) Paul Nicholls won it nine years ago with a 14-1 outsider.
WILLIE MULLINS Aime Desjy (Sean O’Keeffe), Nick Rockett (Paul Townend), Minella Cocooner (Danny Mullins).
PAUL NICHOLLS Enrilo (Angus Cheleda 5), Flash Collonges (Bryony Frost), Threeunderthrufive (Harry Cobden)
DAN SKELTON Le Milos (Dan Skelton)
DAQMAN: Amirite This is won by young horses (aged seven or eight) coming to the fore, so 8 out of 10 won with 11st or less, making Threeunderthrufive’s task with 12st look tough indeed; worse off with Kittys Light for a beating in the Scottish Grand National of 2023.
Kittys Light went on to win this Sandown ‘gold’ only a week after his Ayr triumph. He’s had more time since Aintree this year (fifth) but can he really keep on jumping eight miles of fences in two weeks? He’s been first, second and third in this race.
Minella Cocooner (third) and Nick Rockett come from the Irish Grand National (faded, seventh) when Nick’s jumping was found out more than once; the back straight at Sandown will be his test.
Le Milos won the 3m 2f Newbury Gold Cup (good ground) in 2022 but everything’s been geared to the Aintree Grand National since and he’s fallen short.
Amirite hasn’t been seen since gaining on the leaders at the end of the big chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and has been waiting for Spring ground.
THE REMATCH OF THE DAY..
⭕ 4.10 Sandown (£45,560) Select Hurdle, 2m 5.5f Past results: Paul Nicholls four out of nine; goes for a hat-trick.
WILLIE MULLINS: Impaire Et Passe (Paul Townend), Sir Gerhard (Patrick Mullins)
DAN SKELTON: Langer Dan (Harry Skelton)
PAUL NICHOLLS Blueking d’Oroux (Harry Cobden)
DAQMAN: Impaire Et Passe Twice placed behind Champion Hurdle star State Man but 1121 when raised in trip, twice scoring back to back.
If it’s not the match of the day (that’s Jonbon v El Fabiolo), it’s the rematch of the day, with Langer Dan beaten only a nose and a short-head by Impaire Et Passe at Aintree after taking the Coral Cup at Cheltenham.
TIME FOR A HENDERSON HIT
⭕ 4.45 Sandown (£20,812) Novices’ Handicap Chase, 2m 4f
PAUL NICHOLLS Golden Sun (Harry Cobden), Outlaw Pete (Freddie Gingell 5).
DAQMAN: Persian Time LAYS LOGIC: Nickle Back made all in the Scilly Isles Novices here in February but this is a much deeper field for a race won only once in the decade by the favourite.
After scoring at Kempton in March, Outlaw Pete won at the Ayr festival last Friday so this comes quickly and he’s up 9lb for those back-to-back wins.
Soul Icon, second that day receiving 7lb, puts Nicky Henderson’s Persian Time in front of them both, after their one-two at Kempton, separated a neck.
Terresita’s jumping let her down last time she ventured to Sandown, away from Ludlow, where she is 2411.
Venetia Williams is out of form (0-20) but Martator is one who has carried the flag for the yard, and still has a featherweight.
PIC TRAINER OF THE FUTURE
⭕ 5.20 Sandown (£18,211) Handicap Hurdle, 2m 4f
WILLIE MULLINS Gold Dancer (Danny Mullins), Sa Majeste (Paul Townend)
PAUL NICHOLLS Emailandy (Harry Cobden), Red Risk (Freddie Gingell 5)
DAQMAN: Pic Roc would end the title race by putting Ben Pauling up on the pedestal he will no doubt occupy one day, if this season is any guide.
The benchmark for the form, placed in six consecutive hurdles, Emailandy was unable to handle the Pauling pair, Champagne Twist and Pic Roc, in the NH Novices Final here at Sandown in March.
Emailandy has franked the form since and gives a vital couple of pound more to Pic Roc today.
I have nothing much to say about the Mullins horses for the simple reason they are unexposed, but that very assessment strikes fear into the opposition, so watch the Betdaq Betting Exchange market.
DAQMAN’S BETDAQ-VALUE BETS
1.50 Sandown (win 20)
BET 3pts win SECRET SQUIRREL
2.05 Leicester (win 18)
BET 3pts win MAGIC MEMORIES
2.25 Sandown (win 30, nap @ 5.6)
BET 6.5pts win EASY GAME
2.45 Haydock (win 20)
BET 3.5pts win TACARIB BAY
3.35 Sandown (win 20 each @ 7.4)
BET 3.75pts win AMIRITE
BET 3.75pts win KITTYS LIGHT
4.10 Sandown (win 10)
BET 8pts win IMPAIRE ET PASSE
4.45 Sandown (win 30 @ 13.0)
BET 2.5pts win and place PERSIAN TIME
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