ADELAIDE BANKER SAVES THE DAY: Daqman drew from two of the three big races at Arlington Park, USA, last night, with a banker on Adelaide (WON 11-10) in the Secretariat Stakes and win-and-place Havana Beat (3rd 157-10).
BIG-RACE SECOND AND THIRD: Havana Beat was one of four heartbreak misses, with second and third in the Great St Wilfrid, Spinatrix (2nd 10-1) and Tatlisu (3rd 8-1), and his Newbury nap, Gregorian (2nd 13-8) beaten on the nod.
BANK ON KINGMAN IN DEAUVILLE MUD
1.30 Deauville (Prix Francois Boutin) English-trained raiders dominate this race, which is no mean test, with the French 2,000 Guineas winners, Style Vendome (won 2012) and Karakonite (second last year) both involved in the finish in the last two years.
A Richard Hannon runner, Bunker, short-headed Karakonite and Team Hannon might have made it a hat-trick, after Rockinante (2011), had not his hot 2012 favourite, Havana Gold, unseated rider when Style Vendome won.
Hannon, Tom Dascombe and Pat Eddery had taken the prize from 2009-11. Much depends today on how Hannon’s Tupi, runner-up in the Vintage Stakes (Group 2) at Goodwood – so down in class today – takes to the very soft Deauville terrain.
Tupi’s sire got a dual Deauville winner on very soft ground but, equally, some of his best progeny were best on a sound surface.
Nucifera and Svoul have won in soft-heavy ground but only in the French provinces.
The Deauville CD winner Iceberg looks the main danger. He’s a Shamardal, who has had his best results as a stallion on heavy ground.
2.40 Deauville (Prix Minerve) This was dominated by Andre Fabre (nine wins 1989-2010) until John Gosden interrupted his flow with what would turn out to be Group-1/2 fillies, Dar Re Mi (2008) and last year, Pomology.
Dar Re Mi would be winner and second in the Yorkshire Oaks, winner and second in the Vermeille, and Sheema Classic heroine of 2010. Pomology has just won the Lancashire Oaks, her first race since last year’s Minerve victory.
Fabre’s Hand Puppet, second (1m 2f) for Godolphin at Deauville five weeks ago, is not regarded as leader of the home guard today but the step up in distance should suit the Manduro filly and Manduro’s three Group 1/2 winning progeny all scored on very soft ground.
Gosden’s Criteria is a Galileo, second in the Lingfield Oaks Trial, third in the ‘Royal Ascot Oaks’, the Ribblesdale, and second again in a Listed last time.
Honour Bound seems to have gone backward since the Lingfield trial but has won on the soft and her sire, Authorized, has an excellent record with sons and daughters running on soft-heavy.
Marsh Daisy – by Pivotal, who often gets mudlovers – has already proved herself on soft (that’s English soft, remember; not French) when winning another Oaks trial, the Height Of Fashion Stakes, Goodwood’s old Lupe, in the Spring.
Game Zone is a winner on heavy in the French provinces, and Mambomiss in similar conditions at bBaden-Baden. Zarshana pipped Saraaba on very soft ground for a Longchamp Listed over today’s trip last month.
That leaves Indonesienne, last year’s Marcel Boussac winning juvenile on the soft, who has not had similar conditions until today, but was down the field in the French 1,000 Guineas.
This is the best betting race of the day in France, if the field holds up, and I’m looking at a head-to-head in the final furlong between the two dominant trainers, Gosden and Fabre. I just prefer the lightly raced Hand Puppet over Criteria.
3.10 Deauville (Prix Jacques Le Marois) Only Frankel’s shadow in 2012, Excelebration, has interrupted the free flow of French winners of this for seven years now.
But, with the low turn-out, Kingman may well take his chance to add a quarter of a million pounds to his half-million-plus earnings from the Irish 2,000 Guineas (on soft), St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes.
He took testing conditions in his stride in the Curragh Classic and the French Press has been comparing Kingman to Frankel in their attempts to hype a race which is down was down to five runners this morning.
But there’s enough to test Kingman: Olympic Gold, who won the British Chamions Mile last backend on soft,mwas second in this race last year.
Anodin, second in the Queen Anne, could again have the beating of Olympic Gold on their form in the Prix d’Ispahan in the Spring, when they were second and fourth on soft.
Prolific juvenile Rizeena, back to form in the Coronation Stakes, ran second to Integral in the Falmouth, though Integral was put in her place by Esoterique on today’s course recently.
SPRINTER WHO’S WORTH ANOTHER SPIN
3.45 Pontefract (Flying Fillies’ Stakes) Not so classy as the Minerve but a welcome Listed on drying ground in high winds in Yorkshire, though with the usual ‘ifs and buts’ of this difficult English summer.
We still have Spinatrix and Bondesire in the race as I write at 10 a.m., though both ran their heart out in yesterday’s Great St Wilfrid.
That has me looking elsewhere for the winner, though sprinters are a tough breed and Spinatrix is particularly lightly raced this year.
A keen-going sort, Along Again may benefit from the drop back to 6f (third in a 6f Group 3 as a juvenile) – similarly with Valonia – and, in and out of form, Ladies Are Forever should relish the drier surface.
Hoodna was favourite, early mouse, on BETDAQ, but she’s a rear runner, not entirely suited to this track, and with success only in class 3 on her CV.
I took 6.0 Spinatrix this morning, hoping that she runs, hoping that it doesn’t dry out too much. I’ve never known a summer of more hope than conviction. But we battle on.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points, except the banker)
BET 5pts win on each ICEBERG and (saver) TUPI (1.30 Deauville)
BET 5pts win HAND PUPPET (2.40 Deauville)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) KINGMAN (3.10 Deauville)
BET 4pts win SPINATRIX (3.45 Pontefract)
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