DAQMAN-PRICEWISE MATCH OF THE DAY: It cannot be! Daqman is 2-1 down to Pricewise in the new NH campaign, after turning him over in the last two seasons (jumps 39-12 and Flat 69-32) but still leads overall 109-46. They clash today in the 2.25 Haydock and 3.15 Ascot.
STAR-SPANGLED ASCOT AND HAYDOCK: It’s a day of stars, new and old, at Ascot and Haydock, featuring Cue Card, Dynaste, Faugheen, Silviniaco Conti and The New One. Is there a banker among them? Daqman’s got that wrong, too, this week so far, but he’s on the case again today after 20 from 27 in the summer and autumn.
FAUGHEEN TO FLY HIS ‘CHAMPION’ FLAG
12.25 Ascot Paul Nicholls introduced a future staying chaser (Arpege d’Alene) to hurdles yesterday and had an unexpected winner at 12-1. Ballycoe is built in the same mould and has already proved he has the speed for the smaller obstacles.
Pleasant Company is another potential chaser, along with multiple Points winner, Bally Beaufort. Hunt Ball has been disappointing since he got the star-is-born treatment after winning a novice chase at the Cheltenham festival of 2012.
In fact, most of this field wouldn’t look out of place in the Grand Sefton. The deteriorating ground has probably cost Parish Business his chance of a hat-trick.
But Fletchers Flyer can sneak this for speed, half-brother to L’Accordioniste, a hat-trick scorer over hurdles. Ruby Walsh booked.
1.00 Ascot It’s an old-firm clash, Nicholls v. Henderson. Nicholls saddled Polisky to be beaten only a head in this race last year and is back on the same mark after scoring at Wincanton last month.
Henderson’s Big Hands Harry is a half-brother to Harris Bay who won the United House Gold Cup on this course for Hen Knight and Terry Biddlecombe.
The consistent Minella On Line was strong in the BETDAQ market this morning but has gone up 10lb for finishing second at Chepstow, and now has to defy a 21lb rise from his winning hurdles mark.
2.05 Ascot (Amlin Chase) Ace winners since 2009 have been Albertas Run, Master Minded, Captain Chris and Al Ferof, who attempts to score back to back this afternoon with a penalty, though in fact he’s been marked down by the handicapper since.
Ahead of him on past performance are Somersby, who also needs to bounce back, and Wishfull Thinking, who returned with a 12-length demolition of the Old Roan Chase field at Aintree, despite being 12 come the turn of the year.
Al Ferof came back into training only in September but he won this first time up last season, and can outpoint Wishfull Thinking, who hasn’t put back-to-back wins together since 2011.
However, the Ryanair third, Rajdhani Express, has conditions in his favour here, a winner on heavy getting up to 10lb from these rivals.
2.40 Ascot Hurdle Past results of this are a who’s-who of top hurdlers and chasers: Monets Garden, Hardy Eustace and Silviniaco Conti to name but a few, as they say.
So it is that punters have helped themselves with not one winner above 100-30 at SP in the decade, half a dozen of them favourite or joint-jolly.
If anything in the race today is to follow in the hoofprints of the heroes from its illustrious past, then it will surely be seven-in-a-row Faugheen, the Neptune winner who is already Champion Hurdle favourite.
3.15 Ascot It was a case of ‘Nice one, Venetia’ when her ‘Frankie’, my only winner of the day yesterday (get it right, Daqman!), was yet another reappearance romp for the stable.
I make it 10 first-time-back scorers for the yard but it could be more; fast as I do a recount, Venetia gets another one. Howard’s Legacy, Vivaccio, Gorgehous Liege, Richmond and Niceonefrankie have done the trick in the last 10 days alone.
So we’d better have Brick Red on our side today. He scored at the start of the year on heavy ground after a long absence, and was afterwards a good third, giving 9lb to runner-up Bellenos, over today’s CD.
Brick Red, 6.0 as I write, is better off with Bellenos here and has his ground (it was ‘good’ last time they met). Ulck Du Lin took a right coshing (jockey banned 24 days) to score over CD in October after a long break and looks a candidate for the bounce factor.
UPSWING ON THE TEE FOR HAYDOCK PRIZE
1.50 Haydock The New One, hampered and fast-finishing third in the Champion Hurdle in March, now finds himself defender of the old guard against the young pretender Faugheen, who is at Ascot today.
The New One’s nearest ratings rival this afternoon is Melodic Rendezvous but we really are talking old guard here. He’ll be nine if he takes on the market leaders at Cheltenham in March
2.25 Haydock David Pipe’s form in this in four seasons is 1101, with the ‘duck egg’ for Katkeau, a glass horse who returns to the race on back of a gamble landed at Cheltenham last Saturday after 630 days’ off.
Even if his problems are behind him now, he faces the bounce factor, winner after a long break back on a racecourse within just seven days. Runner-up to him last Saturday, Big Easy also has the CV of an animal that doesn’t stand too much training; only four or five races a year.
The stats show that the last three winners of this came off marks of 141, 142 and 143, which points up recent Chepstow Grade-3 runner-up Aubusson (141). Close on his heels is Vieux Lion Rouge (140), who was third that day and is better off at the weights now.
Stats negatives are Araldur the 2012 winner of this, Trustan Times, and Sybarite, bidding for a hat-trick 17lb higher than when his run started. All are past the winning age.
Volnay De Thaix has been a runaway winner over 2m (Newbury) and 2m 4f (Huntingdon) but steps up to 3m with a penalty, though 5lb extra is a let-off if you think he’s worth the official 14lb rise not yet come into force.
Luckless Upswing would have finished close to Albert Bartlett fourth, Champagne West at Wincanton last Boxing Day but for a fall at the last. Then he lost a shoe on his reappearance run, when favourite to score at Aintree.
That race will have taken the freshness out of Upswing, who has the same sire as stablemate and World Hurdle winner, More Of That. Acts on any going but loves the mud, and 12.0 on BETDAQ, early mouse.
My second choice is Vieux Lion Rouge (13.0) on two grounds: he loves heavy going, has had a run back and was third at Cheltenham in April to the recent Greatwood winner, Garde La Victoire. Saver Volnay De Thaix.
3.00 Haydock (Lancashire Chase) Yet another heat with a history strewn with garlanded heroes – Kauto Star, Imperial Commander, Silviniaco Conti, Cue Card – but not always going the way of the market.
Cue Card and Silviniaco Conti meet again with the scfre 3-2 to Conti who has also beaten The Giant Bolster and Dynaste in the Denman Chase and the Aintree Bowl.
Conti lost his reappearance run to Cue Card in 2011 and again – today’s race – in 2013 but he won this after a run in 2012 and the Charlie Hall should have put him right for revenge this time around.
ITS TIME FOR A BALLY BANKER TO SCORE!
MONEY-BOX BET: My two bankers so far in the Money-Box Bet have both, predictably, been beaten; predictably, because the market went against them.
The early-mouse view is of Ballycasey (2.45 Gowran Park) swerving a clash with Al Ferof and Wishfull thinking today, staying at home with a price (offers of 1.91 as I write) held up by Moscow Mannon.
As BETDAQ punters, we have the huge advantage of being able to trade later on and during the race, but it would be nice to hear the money rattle in the Cheltenham savings box.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET (to win 20) 6.6pts win BIG HANDS HARRY (1.00 Ascot)
BET 5pts win RAJDHANI EXPRESS (2.05 Ascot)
BULL’S-EYE BETS (to win 50): 4.5pts win UPSWING, 4pts win VIEUX LION ROUGE and 2pts win (stakes saver) VOLNAY DE THAIX (2.25 Haydock)
MONEY-BOX BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) BALLYCASEY (2.45 Gowran Park) plus DAQ MULTIPLES: 2pts win double the same one with BRICK RED (3.15 Ascot) and 4 x 1pt win trebles and 1pt acca the same two with THE NEW ONE (1.50 Haydock) and FAUGHEEN (2.40 Ascot)
BET 5pts win SILVINIACO CONTI (3.00 Haydock)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 10pts win BRICK RED (3.15 Ascot)
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