23-1 WINNER IN 14 ASCOT STRIKES: After three consecutive winning days at Royal Ascot, Friday was a burn-out for Daqman. But he kept his concentration and came roaring back with a sensational Saturday bonanza of five winning bets, including a plunge horse from 24.0 on BETDAQ to 12-1 SP and his only lay of the meeting, unplaced 4-1 favourite. Meeting total: 14 wins, four days of profit out of five.
NOW 49 WINS IN FEATURE RACES: He gave Pricewise a 5-1 drubbing yesterday, taking the challenge score for the Ascot meeting to 14-6 and the season’s tally between them for feature races to 49-21, in Daqman’s favour of course. His success yesterday came from:
WON 12-1 Commissioned (24.0 on BETDAQ)
WON 10-1 Dartmouth
WON 7-2 Twilight Son
WON 8-11 Churchill (saver)
WON (Lay) Best of Times (unplaced 4-1 favourite)
FRENCH OAKS NAP BUT 35.0 OUTSIDER FOR A PLACE: Daqman has two more huge offers in mind today for win and place bets, 20.0 at Pontefract and a 35.0 ‘nibble’ in the French Oaks behind a strong-looking nap in that race.
14-1, 12-1 AND 10-1 IN RED-HOT SEVEN DAYS
If only.. Daqman might have added a double whammy in the Wolferton Handicap to his list of success.
He laid the losing favourite but also had a win-and-place bet on Arthenus (4th 12-1 from 16-0 on BETDAQ) but a late non-runner reduced the field to 15, so no pay-out for fourth.
In fact, his winning week started last Sunday with success in the Connaught National at Roscommon. The full list of 15 returns is as follows:
WON 14-1 Aranhill Chief Connaught National
WON 12-1 Commissioned (24.0 on BETDAQ) Queen Alexandra Stakes
WON 10-1 Dartmouth Hardwicke Stakes
WON 10-1 Portage (14.5 on BETDAQ) Royal Hunt Cup
WON 4-1 Profitable (5.9 on BETDAQ) Kings Stand Stakes
WON 7-2 Twilight Son Diamond Jubilee
WON 9-4 Usherette Duke Of Cambridge Stakes
WON 15-8 Even Song Ribblesdale Stakes
WON 10-11 Order Of St George Gold Cup banker
WON 8-11 Churchill Chesham Stakes
2nd 33-1 Cotai Glory (40.0 on BETDAQ) win and place Kings Stand Stakes
4th 20-1 Azraff (27.0 on BETDAQ) win and place Royal Hunt Cup
3rd 14-1 Pedestal Windsor Castle Stakes
4th 14-1 The Major General win and place King George V Stakes
WON (Lay) Best of Times (unplaced 4-1 favourite) Wolferton Handicap
WE’RE ON UNKNOWN TERRITORIES TODAY
1.55 Chantilly (Prix Du Lys) Andre Fabre has won this 15 times, including with subsequent Arc de Triomphe winner Rail Link.
Fabre runs Maniaco and Mahari, whose winning sequence ended on a four-timer when third, beaten by French Derby fourth, Talismanic, the pair separated by Spring Master.
Spring Master had beaten Vengeful in April before that one then ran up to Maniaco. The collateral form, and the fact that Maniaco has had only two starts, suggests that he might now progress past them both.
2.30 Chantilly (Prix Bertrand Du Breuil) Territories (Fabre again), last year’s Newmarket 2,000 Guineas runner-up to Gleneagles, and subsequent winner of the Jean Prat, has had only one run this year. Likely market rival Impassable, twice a Group-2 winner, has had none.
So it’s a strange affair this late on in the season, with Territories perhaps the most trustworthy.
CRESSONNIERE FOR FRENCH OAKS CROWN
3.15 Chantilly (Prix De Diane) Modern monsters like Zarkava (2008) and Treve (2013), and going way back to the flambuoyant Allez France (1973), have taken this French Oaks en route to Arc triumph.
Ballydoyle, who beat Minding last August, was reportedly beaten by her in the Moyglare because the ground was too soft at yielding – albeit Curragh yielding – so Chantilly soft is a worry today.
Meanwhile, Minding extended her authority over Ballydoyle in the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas, and was chosen to take in, and win, the Oaks.
It may be bad luck on The Lads that, in swerving a soggy Royal Ascot with Ballydoyle, their option is a soft Chantilly. Storm drenched the track on Friday but it was sunny there yesterday and again this morning.
I can’t quite recall from my days of sipping champagne on the chateau lawns how quickly it dries out there, though I do remember it took me, personally, a week!
Eleven out of the last 13 French winners of the French Oaks have lined up unbeaten and La Cressonniere, for whom their 1,000 Guineas – at Deauville this year – was her four-timer, beat this week’s Coronation Stakes winner, Qemah, into third that day.
Two lengths behind Qemah in the Coronation was the yardstick Alice Springs, who had been four lengths off Minding at Newmarket (just behind Ballydoyle) and just a shade less than that behind La Cressonniere at Deauville.
Like Ballydoyle, Swiss Range, who beat Ribblesdale winner Even Song in the Newmarket Pretty Polly, doesn’t want it too soft.
Highlands Queen beat Mango Tango a shorthead in her maiden but widened that margin to five lengths on the last day.
Czabo (through Qatar Power) represented Volta’s form in the Coronation Stakes and was stone last.
Volta, Ballydoyle, Camprock, Jemayel and Armande (could reverse recent placings with The Juliet Rose) are all badly drawn high. Star of Seville won it from stall 15 last year, but so many fancied horses jostling from double-figure stalls is off-putting.
The draw adds weight to the claims of La Cressoniere, Highlands Queen and (who’s this?) Coolmore, who is in gate 2.
Unless you get to the race and find the ground is only soft side of good, Ballydoyle and Swiss Range have a cloud over them. La Cressonierre gets the vote, but how about Coolmore for a comeback? At 35.0, just a nibble.
6.8 OFFER ELIDOR LINKED TO DARTMOUTH
3.40 Pontefract (Castle Stakes) Barsanti’s rating has soared 30lb since the start of his hat-trick, with winners beaten in his races and beaten horses winning since.
Captain Morley starts the same mark that his four-lengths Doncaster victim of last September carried to victory in this week’s Duke Of Edinburgh at Royal Ascot . Could be a hidden horse, if we can find an explanation for his poor run on the last day.
He was a long way behind Elidor at York and that one was earlier within a length of Dartmouth in the Ormonde at Chester. Dartmouth looks 120-plus coming out of his Hardwicke success, so Elidor’s 106 may be well short of the mark though, like far too many of Mick Channon’s, she doesn’t settle very well.
Loving Things still ‘could be anything’ but Elidor at 6.8, with Barsanti an even-money saver, is my bet on BETDAQ this morning.
4.10 Pontefract Cup Not much between Bulas Belle snd Waterclock on their one-two here earlier in the month, and See And Be Seen used to be consistent at this level (though only two wins now in two years).
There could be a hidden horse in Giant Redwood (best BETDAQ offers 20.0), who has been faced the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes one-two Kinema and Elite Army, in his races this year but the handicapper has kindly dropped him 7lb for the trouble.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET (stake each to win 10pts) MANIACO (1.55) and TERRITORIES (2.30 Chantilly)
BET (each to win 30pts) 10pts win (nap) LA CRESSONNIERE, and 1pt win and place COOLMORE (3.15 Chantilly)
BET (to win 30) 5pts win on each ELIDOR and (stakes saver) BARSANTI (3.40 Pontefract)
BET (to win 20) 1pt win and place GIANT REDWOOD (4.10 Pontefract)
£25 IN FREE BETS
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