SIX DAQMAN NAPS MAKE 203 POINTS PROFIT: Daqman napped a Saturday big-race winner for the second week in succession yesterday, when L’Homme Presse landed winning nap number six in eight days and took his naps profit in that time to 203.88 points to recommended stakes. Yesterday:
WON 6-4 L’HOMME PRESSE (Fortune Cookie, nap)
WON 11-8 AMARILLO SKY
Six naps up in 8 days: profit 203.88 points
WON 15-2 PROTEKTORAT (big-race Saturday nap)
WON 4-9 STATE MAN (Sunday supernap)
WON 7-4 MIRANDA (Monday nap)
WON 11-8 PEMBROKE (Wednesday nap)
WON 11-10 FAVORI DE CHAMPDOU (Thursday nap)
WON 6-4 L’HOMME PRESSE (big-race Saturday nap yesterday)
BIG-RACE MAGIC AT NAVAN: Navan’s Monksfield Hurdle and Troytown Chase could be the events of the weekend, as Daqman bets at 12, 12.5 and 13.0
CONSTITUTION HILL OUT ON HIS OWN
Wanted: sporting owners. J P McManus earns that accolade for running his dual champion hurdler, Epatante, against Constitution Hill at Newcastle yesterday.
But who will line up for the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and then in the championship itself at Cheltenham to give the horse – and his public – a race.
Constitution Hill quickened clear and ran to the line with the brakes on, 12 lengths in front of Epatante, giving her 7lb.
Their trainer, Nicky Henderson, insisted that winner and second had both worked well in preparation for the race and it was ‘beyond belief’ that the winner could pull so far ahead of a dual champion.
The ratings are now expected to show Constitution Hill around 21lb clear of his stablemate, which would put him 10lb ahead of Honeysuckle. Surely not! But what can the handicapper do.
Honeysuckle, the current champion, had just three-and-a-half lengths to spare over Epatante at Cheltenham in March on the same day that Constitution Hill romped away with the Supreme Novices by 22 lengths in track record-time.
That put the writing on the wall for a series of showdowns, the first of them yesterday in the Fighting Fifth, with no Irish involvement, except the McManus connection and the fact that it was Barry Geraghty picked Constitution Hill as a foal.
Before the race, I said this horse was ‘a jumping Frankel or Flightline’. ITV took a similar line after the race, likening Constitution Hill’s domination to a ‘Frankel or Baaeed’ situation.
But it’s over to Ireland now to create that traditionally-titled ‘race of the century’ between Constitution Hill and Honeysuckle.
If he wins that, he will be spoken of in the same breath as the likes of Istabraq and Hurricane Fly.
I’ll go further right now: his jumping is so fluent and intelligent that he could be another Dawn Run and win both Champion Hurdle (1984) and Gold Cup (1986).
HERE’S A DAWN RUN AT BETDAQ 12.5
⭕ 1.20 Navan (Monksfield Novice Hurdle) If you want to go right back, way beyond Hurricane Fly (2011 and 13) and Istabraq (1998 to 2000 hat-trick), you ultimately reach a triple of dual winners.
Night Nurse, Monksfield and Sea Pigeon fought each other as if the Champion Hurdle trophy belonged to them. It did, from 1976 to 1981.
And here’s Monksfield honoured, the only Irish winner of the trio, with a trial race which Gordon Elliott has won seven times, including the last three.
It’s a test today between a pair of classy types from the Longwood yard: American Mike, winner at 6-1 on in his only hurdles start, and Three Card Brag, beaten here the last day (2m) after breaking his maiden at Galway but bred for this longer trip.
Noel Meade’s Affordale Fury could spoil the party after scoring from a big field at Galway over 2m 6f.
And no doubt J P McManus hopes to leave the disappointment of Newcastle behind with Dawn Rising, full brother to the Irish Derby winner Sovereign (for the Lads) and a Grade-1-novice hurdles performer, Triplicate (for McManus).
Dawn Rising was Group placed with Aidan O’Brien on the Flat before being gelded and switching to Joseph.
Seems sure to come on for an eight-lengths stroll at Listowel, beating the runner-up to an Albert Bartlett winner.
American Mike is 1.54 this morning, which is supernap odds, but that’s for another time until we have further proof and I shall – I hope – enjoy a tilt at him with BETDAQ 12.5 offer Dawn Rising.
FRONTAL CAN MOCK THE HANDICAPPER
⭕ 2.20 Navan (Troytown Chase) It only seems like yesterday that Daqman had the 12-1 turn-up, Empire Of Dirt (2016), one of five Troytown winners for Gordon Elliott, who saddles eight runners in the feature race today.
Davy Russell rode the Elliott winner last year, seven-year-old Run Wild Fred, but his mount today, Death Duty is now 11, and it’s another look-back to yesterday to recall their last success together in the Drinmore of five years ago.
Jack Kennedy rides a stablemate, Frontal Assault, who is only 3lb higher than when they were runner-up together in the Irish Grand National, with Velvet Elvis sixth, after Elvis made a mistake at the second last.
Frontal Assault’s comfortable comeback win at Galway came at the expense of Darrens Hope, who boosted the form in the recent Grade-2 Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown.
Jessica Harrington’s Lifetime Ambition handed Darrens Hope a comfortable thrashing, giving the runner-up 7lb, at Limerick in March.
But that’s why he’s 9lb higher and Jessica is claiming off Conor Smithers (7), hoping for a change of luck in this chase (she is 0-10).
I shall stand with the favourite, Frontal Assault, who has a huge chance at the weights, with the handicapper failing to put him up a single pound for the defeat of Darrens Hope.
Velvet Elvis, a clear winner of the Novice Handicap Chase Final here at Navan in March, may be his big danger again, though The Big Dog has just won Limerick’s Munster National. That’s my 1-2-3.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 3.6 Frontal Assault, 12 The Big Dog, 13 Velvet Elvis
DAQMAN’S BETS
A poor card at Leicester so for the nap, I shall try Hold That Taught at Carlisle (3.00), who scored here at this time last season after the break and would complete a treble over the weekend for Venetia Williams, which included L’Homme Presse. BETDAQ 4.7.
1.20 Navan (win 12)
BET 1pt win DAWN RISING
2.20 Navan (win 50 bull’s-eye bets and win 20)
BET 4.5pts win THE BIG DOG
BET 4pts win VELVET ELVIS
BET 7.5pts win FRONTAL ASSAULT
3.00 Carlisle (win 20 nap)
BET 5.4pts win HOLD THAT TAUGHT
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