CLASH OF GIANTS: ELLIOTT AND MULLINS You only have to Ask! And the Skeltons provide you with a winner (Thistle Ask WON 15-8 for Daqman yesterday). In Ireland the Christmas present for punters has been a sensational winning run for Gordon Elliott, as he storms a million euros ahead of Willie Mullins. So today we’re at Leopardstown for two top jumps contests in which these giants among trainers are head to head.
BALLYBURN LOVES THIS TRACK
⭕ 1.55 Leopardstown (Christmas Hurdle) ELEVEN winners in two days over the Christmas weekend for Gordon Elliott, who has promised ‘no more seconds’ to Willie Mullins for the Irish trainer’s title (he’s been 13 times Willie’s runner-up).
Gordon went nearly a million euros clear in this year’s race by landing the Power Chase yesterday with a 66-1 shot. He’s had 121 winners to Willie’s 91.
Daqman (hot) spotted Ballyburn (Mullins) for this Christmas Hurdle when he just failed to catch Teahupoo (Elliott) for the Hattons Grace.
Teahupoo has swerved Leopardstown so far in his career but Ballyburn’s record here is 111, though he still has to score at around today’s trip.
Gordon makes it interesting by also saddling rising star The Yellow Clay for a race which youngsters aged five and six win 50% of the time, including the first two of a hat-trick for Elliott-trained Apple Jade (2017-19).
The Yellow Clay won the Monksfield and the Lawlors in a Navan novices’ hat-trick, which progressed through the Grades before he missed out less than a length to The New Lion at the Cheltenham Festival.
But needs to bounce back from odds-on defeat when returning at Navan last month (’never travelled’).
🔥HOT SPOT🔥 Ballyburn
CUE COLOMBE FOR A COMEBACK
⭕ 2.30 Leopardstown (Savills Chase) Willie Mullins has his own plans for a hat-trick today: Gallopin des Champs in the Savills, this strongest guide of all the trials for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Again, we’re looking for youngsters to rise to the top of the cream, with no winner of this aged older than eight in the decade.
But of the 166-plus-rated today, Galopin Des Champs, Fastorslow, Gerri Colombe, Grangeclare West and I Am Maximus are every one of them nine years old!
Galopin Des Champs has been beaten on two of his last three reappearance runs and he has had no such starter for today’s race: but his Leopardstown form over fences is a near perfect seven up: 1111111.
Of the others, only Grangeclare West and Croke Park have won here. Of the youngsters, Inothewayurthinkin is still not getting kudos for beating Galopin des Champs in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and was a drifter this morning.
Lecky Watson is my fancy to elbow his way through the crowd of oldies. The imposing gelding made his name in the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham, prompting Mullins to say: We will have to go down the Gold Cup route now.’
While Mullins runs five, Gordon Elliott has just one established runner, a stone clear of his two others; that’s Gerri Colombe.
In Gerri’s favour is that he’s raced only 10 times in all over fences and narrowed the margin he was held by Galopin Des Champs in today’s race (2023) to just three and a half length in the 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Gordon’s ‘dream horse’ can take his comeback cue from the stable’s rampant form.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 22 Gerri Colombe, 23 Lecky Watson
BACK TO THE CRYSTAL BALL..
⭕ 2.03 Catterick Ben and Ben is another telly tag you have to bear if you watch terrestrial.
Ben Pauling, trainer, and Ben Jones, jockey, who won the sensational four-way photo for the King George, team up solely with Crystal Days today.
On a sound surface at Uttoxeter, she was third to a subsequent Listed-level winner, with the runner-up scoring more than six lengths next time.
My crystal ball has gone awry with most of my Christmas Hot Spots but this mare gets the weight and the ground back in her favour and can celebrate the Bens golden holiday: BETDAQ 4.7 taken.
In the next couple of days, I shall establish new-year’s resolutions with the way forward for 2026.
DAQMAN’S BETS
on Betdaq Betting Exchange
1.55 Leopardstown (🔥Hot Spot🔥)
BET 20pts win BALLYBURN
2.03 Catterick (win 30, nap)
BET 8.5pts win CRYSTAL DAYS
2.30 Leopardstown (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 2.4pts win GERRI COLOMBE
BET 2.25pts win LECKY WATSON
6 x 1pt RFs with GALOPIN DES CHAMPS
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