BANKERS DOUBLE COOKING! Daqman has made a three-figure sum with his Fortune Cookies. There are two more today, and he’s determined on playing up the winnings with maximum-stakes banker bets.
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: Look out this week for Daqman’s preview of the Christmas racing and updates on his main body of bets.
DOUBLE-BANKER FORTUNE COOKIES
Is a festivals fortune cooking? It’s a big day today for my horses-to-follow list as two super novices, both given the banker treatment, try to cement their claim for Cheltenham and beyond.
We’ve made nearly 150 points from the Fortune Cookies so far, every penny a bonus because the objective wasn’t profit now but to condense the list to a winner-finding 10 or 12 for Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown. In fact, we’re filling our wallets for the Spring festivals season!
2.10 Thurles ASTHURIA One of today’s pair that we’ve already seen is Asthuria (2.10 Thurles), who was taken up as a banker first time back this season and scored at 15-8 on.
Asthuria takes on four winners of eight Rules races here. She was foot perfect on her return in November at Fairyhouse, where she’d run third to the smart Jer’s Girl at the end of last season.
Asthuria drops back from 20f to two miles here with trainer Willie Mullins so confident in her jumping ability that he thinks she could be a top-class two-miler with the stamina to see out here races (uphill at Cheltenham, for instance).
Today’s opposition includes two from Joseph O’Brien: one of them Kalopsia (J P McManus) has had five hurdles races. Along The Shore is Flat-bred, a daughter of Dylan Thomas related to Pilsudski on the dam’s side.
But Asthuria’s biggest headache is likely to be the Gigginstown runner, Shattered Love, who can better by far that Flat pedigree of Along The Shore’s but with strong jumping overtones.
Shattered Love is a daughter of Yeats out of a Bustino mare who was half-sister to Champion Hurdle winner, Make A Stand.
Very weak last season, she is still is a big, unfurnished sort – ‘a shell of a horse’, according to trainer Gordon Elliott – and anything she does now is a bonus.
3-25 Navan GOOD THYNE TARA Shattered Love was beaten five lengths in a bumper at Naas in March by my second Fortune Cookie running today, also trained by Willie Mullins.
Since Good Thyne Tara is by Kayf Tara out of Good Thyne mare, her stamina is assured, and this is franked unmistakably by her relatives, a cross-country winner and a Supreme Novices winner among them.
Good Thyne Tara was ‘in a different league’ and her jockey ‘didn’t have to move a muscle,’ according to reports of her mares’ bumper success at Cork in November.
You’d expect Good Thyne Tara to be a short-odds favourite in this Future Champions (Listed) bumper at Navan this afternoon. But Samcro was the hotpot for Gigginstown in what seems another showdown match between Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins.
Special among Samcro’s relatives are Master Of The Hall and Sound Man, suggesting that he will come into his own over hurdles and fences later on.
15.5 TOO BIG FOR FAKENHAM REPEAT?
12.40 and 3.20 Fakenham Nicky Henderson (12.40 Comely and 3.20 Argante) has a 44% strike rate with hurdlers at Fakenham, and I fancied backing the first runner; if lose, the second.
But Comely has two winners to beat and Argante will be short on the strength of his effort in a much better race at Ascot. I’ll mix them in some Daq Multiples.
1.45 Fakenham The 15.5 offers Noble Legend on BETDAQ this morning were far too big. He won this race last year off 8lb higher and, since then, has finished second at this level with a stone more than today.
The handicapper has taken a chance dropping him to a mark which saw him complete four wins in a row in 2012-13; he’s still only nine.
Shanroe Santos has yet to be placed in a chase and Templehills’ yard has a very poor strike rate on this course (1-15).
Drumlee Lad is doing all right as a novice but the handicapper has noticed and he has to give nearly a stone to the selected on his open-handicap debut.
2.20 Fakenham Noble Legend’s stablemate, Being Global, drops back in grade and is within a pound of his winning rating, but the youngster G’Day Aussie seemed well ahead of his mark when he won at Sedgefield.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 2pts win and place NOBLE LEGEND (1.45 Fakenham)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) ASTHURIA (2.10 Thurles)
BET 8pts win G’DAY AUSSIE (2.20 Fakenham)
BANKER: BET 20pts win GOOD THYNE TARA (3.25 Navan)
DAQ MULTIPLES: Asthuria, G’Day Aussie and Good Thyne Tara in trebles with Comely (12.40 Fakenham) and Argante (3.20 Fakenham)
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.
