9-2 WIN SO DAQMAN’S 114 POINTS UP: Daqman yesterday stretched his lead over Pricewise to 114 points with Jaameh (WON 9-2). He now has more than FOUR TIMES the winning returns of his Racing Post rival, 33-8, in the search for value.
DAY-BY-DAY COUNTDOWN TO ASCOT: Daqman starts his Royal Ascot countdown with the latest news on the Hardwicke Stakes. Look out for a Tuesday-Saturday day-by-day analysis of stats and facts a week in advance.
MOORE SWITCH TO DARTMOUTH?
Straight from the horse’s mouth! The first gamble of Royal Ascot 2017 is likely to be Dartmouth in the Hardwicke Stakes on the final day of the big meeting.
After morning gallops yesterday, Ryan Moore hinted that he would be available to ride with the possible defection from the race of Aidan O’Brien’s favourite, Highland Reel.
Dartmouth, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, was completing a hat-trick when he beat Highland Reel (Seamie Heffernan) a head in the Hardwicke last year, ridden by Olivier Peslier.
Moore was left out in the cold when he mistakenly chose the 6-4 favourite, Exospheric, also trained by Stoute. Excuses were made for a disappointing run by Exospheric that day but he has never won another race.
Dartmouth returned to form on his reappearance in the Yorkshire Cup at the York Dante Meeting, winning a four-way thriller from the British Champion Mare, Simple Verse.
It was noticeable that the big players – Ladbrokes and Corals – blanked the Hardwicke this morning, with the favourite, Jack Hobbs, already likely to switch to the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes a week on Wednesday, when he would now meet French ace Cloth of Stars.
Stars’ trainer Andre Fabre told the Racing Post: ‘With Minding out, the Prince Of Wales looks winnable.’
Ladbrokes have Ulysses clear favourite, ahead of Jack Hobbs. Ulysses trainer? Sir Michael Stoute. Setting his field very well, as usual, and always hard to bowl out his older horses.
ZIG ZIG! IT’S A CHAMPION DOUBLE
2.45 Auteuil (French Champion Hurdle) It was unheard of for English and Irish trainers to raid this prize until Willie Mullins made the breakthrough with back-to-back success in 2003-4 and then did it again (2011-12) with Thousand Stars
Since then David Pipe and, last year, Paul Nicholls with Ptit Zig have taken the euros.
Last year’s 1-2-3-5 are back for more: Ptit Zig, Alex De Larredya, Blue Dragon and Bosseur, with Blue Dragon and Bosseur worse off at the weights today.
The shorter trial, the Prix Leon Rambaud in April, went to Blue Dragon by 12 lengths with Bosseur third, Alex De Larredya fourth and Capivari fifth.
And the more recent – but also shorter – Prix la Barka was won narrowly by Shaneshill receiving 4lb from runner-up L’Ami Serge, with Alex de Larredya fifth, Bosseur seventh and Capivari eighth.
So it is that the overall-form indicator is for Ptit Zig, particularly after his ‘moral win’ in giving 8lb but going down only a length and a half to L’Ami Serge at Sandown.
There have been seven dual winners of this in the last 45 years and Nicholls’ Great Pretender gelding can make it eight. A tipster has always to wear his heart like a clown.
BOX CLEVER IN THE BALLYOGAN
3.55 The Curragh (Ballyogan Stakes) Honours are even (5-5) between three-year-olds and older horses in this Group 3 but the mud on the straight course swerves me towards Music Box, who drops back from 7f here but races with the pace. Offers of 9.8 on BETDAQ as I write.
4.25 The Curragh (Silver Stakes) Ano her one dropping down in trip – and how! – is Ivanovich Gorbatov. You wouldn’t normally expect to find a triumph Hurdle winner in a race which is sometimes a pointer to the Royal Hunt Cup!
But it’s a modest field and he could dominate: 10.0 on BETDAQ early mouse says he’s good for a place at least.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 30 points, unless stated)
BET 6pts win (nap) PTIT ZIG (2.45 Auteuil)
BET 8pts (to win 20) STERNRUBIN (3.40 Goodwood)
BET 3.4pts win and place MUSIC BOX (3.55 The Curragh)
BET 3pts win and place IVANOVICH GORBATOV (4.25 The Curragh)
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
