50 NAPS UP FOR THE SEASON WITH SATURDAY SUPER STAKES: Daqman made it eight winning naps from 12 for a 66% strike rate, taking his overall total to 50, when Cill Anna (WON 4-6) landed a supernap at Doncaster yesterday. His nap today is at Huntingdon, and he names a 9.0 outsider at Leopardstown.
JOHNSON v HUGHES DOUBLE WHAMMY STRIKE AT SEDGEFIELD: What better way for Daqman to join in the jockeys’-title battle between Brian Hughes and Richard Johnson today than with a double whammy, in which he opposes the favourite and backs one to beat it at Sedgefield.
CHELTENHAM ANTE-POST NEXT WEEK
BETDAQ value. Next week, the last week before the Cheltenham Festival, Daqman will be looking for ante-post bets from his Fortune Cookies horses to follow and from daily analysis of the race-by-race stats for all four days of the big meeting.
Monday: Fortune Cookies in the ante-post markets for Cheltenham. Racing at Leopardstown and Wetherby (inspection 8 a.m.) over Jumps (bronze level); Chepstow abandoned. Wolverhampton (AW) on the Flat (bronze level).
Tuesday: Stats For Day 1 at the Cheltenham Festival. Racing at Navan, Exeter and Newcastle (inspection 8 a.m.) over Jumps (bronze level); Southwell (AW) on the Flat (bronze level).
Wednesday: Stats for Day 2 at the Cheltenham Festival. Racing at Clonmel, Catterick and Fontwell over Jumps (bronze level); Lingfield and Kempton (AW) on the Flat (also bronze level).
Thursday: Stats for Day 3 at the Cheltenham Festival. Racing at Thurles, Wincanton and Carlisle over Jumps (bronze level); Southwell and Newcastle (both AW Flat), also bronze level.
Friday: Stats for Day 4 at the Cheltenham Festival. Racing at Sandown, Leicester and Ffos Las over Jumps and Wolverhampton (AW). Grand Military Gold Cup day at Sandown might present us with a silver-strength bet or two.
Saturday: Imperial Cup day at Sandown, with the possibility of gold and silver bets, with bull’s-eye targets in the big handicap. Also Jumps at Ayr and Hereford (bronze) and AW Flat at Chelmsford and Wolverhampton, also bronze.
Sunday: Cheltenham news and preview; racing at Warwick (Jumps) and Southwell (mixed), both bronze.
Key: Gold standard racing is for win-50, win 30 and supernap stakes; silver for win 20; bronze for win 10.
HUGHES TO LAND DOUBLE WHAMMY
2.40 Sedgefield Richard Johnson is 1111, still standing from five rides (one pulled up), since his return with leading jockey Brian Hughes able to respond just the once, as they make the day interesting in England, clashing twice at Sedgefield this afternoon.
I shall oppose Johnson’s odds-on favourite, Strong Glance, and go for a double whammy, taking trainer Brian Ellison to complete a hat-trick after Saturday’s double.
Ellison’s runner, Baron De Midleton, a winner at Doncaster in December, returning after a double wind op, will be steered by hungry Brian Hughes.
Johnson was on board Strong Glance for his odds on failure at Fakenham when raised to today’s 2m 4f. Back at a shorter trip, he won easily at Market Rasen.
He is being touted as well in because he doesn’t get a penalty for that Rasen win in a conditionals race, but those events are notorious for form kinks.
In fact, the second horse home to Strong Glance that day has pulled up on his two starts since. The third has been beaten a total of 58 lengths in two races since.
The horse that beat Strong Glance when he was odds on at Fakenham was himself turned over when odds on in his very next race, also at Fakenham.
It all makes Baron De Midleton look big at offers of 3.9 in the BETDAQ orange this morning.
3.25 Huntingdon Equus Secretus hasn’t won a race since a novice hurdle in 2017 and I doubt if he is the eponymous ‘dark horse’.
Royale Pagaille shaped well on debut for Venetia Williams and, as ex-French, did his juvenile winning in heavy ground.
But Lies About Milan makes a quick transition to fences at a time when Fergal O’Brien has struck form, going for a hat-trick with his only runner today after winning both big races at Doncaster on Saturday afternoon, with Liosduin Bhearna and Gina Trail, both ridden superbly by today’s jockey, Paddy Brennan. BETDAQ 4.2 taken.
9.0 OFFER COULD SPOIL THE PARTY
4.40 Leopardstown Poker Party is number 52 in the Grand National, with every chance of getting in off 10st 1lb. Today is key to accepting his party invitation.
He drops back in trip to close on the distance of his back-to-back wins of around a year ago before his third in a Grade A novice at the Punchestown festival.
Poker Party has been even better this winter, winning the Kerry National and finishing a close fourth, giving weight to the first three, in the big-field chase here at Leopardstown over Christmas won by Roaring Bull.
He came from a long way back that day and Rachael Blackmore will need to have him handier this afternoon on yielding ground.
Anibale Fly and Moonshine Bay are also entered at Aintree, along with Spider Web who won today’s race two years back. He’s been winner and third in the Ladbrokes Munster National at Limerick since.
Spider Web has been running much better than last year’s winner of this, Woods Well, with Gordon Elliottt hoping first-time blinkers will help that one.
At number 84, Spider Web has no hope of getting into the National; nor has Moonshine Bay in the 78 slot.
But Anibale Fly is number 5 on the card off 11st 2lb, receiving 8lb from the dual winner and top weight, Tiger Roll. Today is vital if he is to bounce back from poor recent form and try to improve on his Aintree fourth in 2018 and fifth last year, when giving Tiger Roll 9lb and 5lb respectively.
Tikkanen Express is an improver and a fine jumper who is in good recent form and, like Spider Web, gets a stone from Poker Party. I took 9.0 the Express in the BETDAQ orange which meant I could also afford to back Poker Party at 2.75.
DAQMAN TIPS
2.40 Sedgefield (win 10)
BACK 3.5pts win BARON DE MIDLETON
3.25 Huntingdon (win 10)
BET 3.25pts win (nap) LIES ABOUT MILAN
4.40 Leopardstown (win 20, win 10)
BET 2.5pts win TIKKANEN EXPRESS
BET 5pts win POKER PARTY
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