WHAT A WALLY! TWO WINNERS FOR DAQMAN.. BUT NO NAP UP! Daqman had a winner in France (Wally WON 10-11) and one in Germany (Namos WON 7-4 in the big sprint) yesterday but his naps flopped after the hat-trick he completed on Thursday. Daqman’s always hard on himself but hopes to get back on the Derby trail again today in the trial at Baden-Baden before he lists his horses to follow. Headlines today:
🔹 THAT’S DERBY SPIRIT, DECLARES ROUGET
🔹 PALAO LOOKS THE PICK ON KNOWN FORM
🔹 ITOBO CAN JUST ABOUT DO THE DOUBLE
THAT’S DERBY SPIRIT, DECLARES ROUGET
⚠️ HEADS UP Fantastic Spirit, related to Arc winner Montjeu on the dam’s side, won the Derby du Midi at Bordeaux with such authority yesterday that trainer Jean-Claude Rouget reckons the colt has earned a trip to the French Derby, for which Pao Alto and Victor Ludorum are disputing favouritism.
⚠️ HEADS UP Punters love a handicap and the rescheduled Royal Ascot will have two Royal Hunt Cups and two Wokinghams. In each case, and for the first time ever, there will be the main prize plus a consolation race.
⚠️ HEADS UP One of the great institutions, the Brighton Mile, will not be run this year. Brighton, Carlisle, Nottingham and Worcester will have no summer racing. Plans are for the Carlisle Bell to be transferred to Haydock Park.
⚠️ HEADS UP Pierre Charles Boudot, who leads the French jockeys’ championship with 58 winners, has four rides at Deauville today. His nearest challenger, Maxime Guyon (44), has five.
⚠️ HEADS UP Five stables are just four winners apart in the trainers’ championship: Jean-Claude Rouget 26, Christophe Escuder 24, Christophe Ferland and Fabrice Vermeulen each on 23, and Frederic Rossi with 22.
PALAO LOOKS THE PICK ON KNOWN FORM
⭕ 1.00 Baden-Baden (Deutsches Derby Trial) Trainer Henk Grewe, who already has potential Classic stars in Wonderful Moon and Rubaiyat, tries to add Adrian to his Deutsches Derby portfolio, or is he just putting a slide rule on the Hamburg opposition?
Though Adrian was a January foal (by Reliable Man), he took time to come to hand as a two-year-old, finally beating Toscano four lengths at Mulheim in November.
Toscano takes him on again today but was only seventh of eight in the Cologne Classic on his reappearance at the beginning of May, 12 lengths behind Wonderful Moon.
This suggests that the Cologne race is turnkey to today and to the Derby itself, and that this Trial will go to either one of the third, fourth and fifth that day, Palao, Near Poet and Soul Train.
BETDAQ 3.0 this morning, Palao, who is with multiple German champion, Marcus Klug, finished four lengths clear of Near Poet and Soul Train, so seemingly ran the best trial.
There are those who will argue that Toscano was unlucky, stumbling badly after two furlongs at Cologne and struggling to go the pace when he managed to join the main group three out.
But he had started sluggishly in rear at a very big price (43-1), as if something was already amiss or that it was obvious he hadn’t trained on.
⭕ 1.35 Deauville David Smaga’s team is currently below par (1-11) but La Poutanesca was very nearly a winner here, at Deauville, beaten a neck in a big field on his first run back in March.
Grace Bere (trainer 0-13) had two wins (one of them here) and a second place in three races evenly spread over January, February and March.
I Am Charlie had very near misses at Cagnes and here at Deauville – beaten a neck in one, half a length in the other – and, after six consecutive races claimed off, now has the leading French rider, Pierre-Charles Boudot, to hand this bridesmaid the bouquet in a successful return to handicapping.
Long Island beat 15 others at Longchamp 10 days ago, but the form doesn’t amount to much. The ground may not be soft enough for Lady Walli.
⭕ 3.25 Deauville (Group 3) Call The Wind, pipped for the French Gold Cup by Holdthasigreen in the autumn, is back for revenge on 6lb better terms in this 1m 7f marathon.
ITOBO CAN JUST ABOUT DO THE DOUBLE
⭕ 3.30 Baden-Baden (Group 2) Windstoss, a hold-up horse, drops back in trip and it’s hard to see him shaking off his bridesmaid tag after three Group-2 places without winning. That includes his third in this race last year, when Wai Key Star was only fifth.
Windstoss was beaten about a length by the winner, Itobo, who has won a Group 3 at the Hoppegarten in Berlin since then.
Quest The Moon was beaten less than three lengths, fourth, in last year’s German Derby, after winning well at Longchamp (Group 3). But the Derby winner, Laccario, was beaten by Itobo in that Hoppegarten Group 3.
If Itobo is to be beaten here, it could be by the consistent Durance, third in the German Oaks and second in the E P Taylor at Woodbine. Tricky stuff but 8.0 Itobo on BETDAQ was the value.
⭕ 4.00 Deauville Bring On The Night could step up here after scoring at Compiegne for Andre Fabre and Pierre-Charles Boudot.
But the form of that victory hasn’t worked out well and he is open to attack by the race-fit L’Aigle.
The son of Gleneagles finished a good fourth behind French Derby fancy Pao Alto in September before getting off the mark at Compiegne. Traveled well, sixth, on his return and this is a drop in class.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.00 Baden-Baden (win 10)
BET 3.25pts win PALAO
1.35 Deauville (win 10)
BET 2.25pts win I AM CHARLIE
3.25 Deauville (supernap)
BET 20pts win CALL THE WIND
3.30 Baden Baden (win 20)
BET 3pts win ITOBO
4.00 Deauville (win 10)
BET 4pts win L’AIGLE
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