DAQMAN 26-11 UP WITH 277 POINTS THE DIFFERENCE: The action today as Daqman leads Pricewise 26-11 (and more than 277 points in front to a level stake) is at Deauville and on the final day at Galway. Daqman also explores Leicester and Sandown, looking for a nap. Headlines:
🔹 MARQUAND LONE MISSION FOR MICK
🔹 BLESSED! HE’S YOUR CANDY MAN..
🔹 MURTAGH IMPROVER IN THE KNOW
🔹 JOHNSTON BOOKING BENTLEY DRIVE
🔹 A BIG BABY BULL’S-EYE BET AT 19.0
NEXT WEEK: Trainers, jockeys and horses to follow in the second half of the season.
MARQUAND LONE MISSION FOR MICK
⭕ 1.35 Deauville (Prix De Cabourg) Tom Marquand has flown to Normandy for the one mount, Mick Channon’s Cairn Gorm, a descendant down the female line of the fabulous Time Charter.
Time Charter won the Epsom Oaks, Champion Stakes and King George to name but a few as they say.
Cairn Gorm is already 2-2 and my man in the long grass says that Mick is as excited as he was in 1976 when Southampton beat Man U 1-0 in the FA Cup Final.
The big danger is Archie Watson’s Mighty Gurkha, fifth in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot but, like the home defender Axdavali, has so far seemed Listed level at best.
BLESSED! HE’S YOUR CANDY MAN..
⭕ 1.45 Sandown Henry Candy, Mr Laid-Back himself, who trained Time Charter, has Blessed in this handicap, in which the three-year-olds are 4-3 up over four-year-olds in seven seasons. Henry won it with one in 2013.
They have most of the runners here, but only Blessed, What An Angel and Claudius Secundus have the handy low draw.
Claudius is beginning to look like a perpetual bridesmaid, failing (and surely expected to do so at 12-1) here at Sandown with cheekpieces fitted first time on the last day.
What An Angel is also now four times placed without winning. Blessed is the least exposed of the trio, and is taken to beat course winner Colonel Whitehead.
MURTAGH IMPROVER IN THE KNOW
⭕ 2.50 Deauville (Prix Rothschild) The race in which Laurens scooped £154,000 for Karl Burke last year is down in prizemoney by almost half but hard-up trainers from Kildare (Johnny Murtagh) and Newmarket (Charlie Appleby) will be happy with that.
Both Murtagh, who saddles Know It All, and Appleby (Summer Romance) have been on a roll since racing’s resumption.
Know It All, to be ridden by Oisin Murphy, took a step forward when winning a Group 3 at Leopardstown the last day and has won on soft ground.
Kingman filly Summer Romance also won a Group 3 for William Buick after finishing 10 lengths off the winner of the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas.
Speak Of The Devil went down only by a nose in the French 1,000 but weakened out of the French Oaks finish, dominated by Fancy Blue and Alpine Star for Ireland.
Honours are currently even in this race (4-4) between three-year-olds and four-year-olds , and the older filly, Watch Me, who beat Hermosa in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last year, will be hard to beat, back to form three weeks ago.
But, on the grounds that we don’t yet know it all about Know It All, I’ll wave the Murtagh flag.
JOHNSTON BOOKING BENTLEY DRIVE
⭕ 3.10 Leicester Harry Bentley, who rode a classy finish at Goodwood yesterday to win on Hochfeld for Mark Johnston, gets the Johnston ride again here on Lion Tower, 6.1 in the BETDAQ orange early mouse.
Second and third, both receiving weight from Lion Tower at Newmarket in June, have scored since so, in fact, Lion Tower in fourth had three winners in front of him!
Still a maiden, and beaten favourite the last day, Vasari isn’t tempting me after the poor show by stablemate Laafy behind Hochfeld.
Grande Rumore has run a bridesmaid 222, so qualifying for this handicap but not in the usual way; hardly a hidden horse.
Anjah has also been second twice as stepping-stones to handicapping, but the well-touted winner of her last-day run at Salisbury, Baashir, went handicapping at Newmarket yesterday and was a bitter disappointment .
A BIG BABY BULL’S-EYE BET AT 19.0
⭕ 4.20 Galway Njord lasted until pipped on the line; Big Baby Bull faded final furlong. That’s how they ‘nearly won’ the big mile handicap here on Tuesday. Now here they are over 7f, seemingly sure to play a hand in the finish.
The draw tends to favour the extremes: stall 2 is good (3 wins), so too 11-16; and I’m thinking Baby Big Bull (out of 17). He previously won a Curragh 7f handicap at this level, and was too big at 19.0 in the BETDAQ orange this morning.
Mr Wendell (gate 12) was impressive in his maiden at Gowran Park but will he go on from there? And why should he be the first three-year-old winner that I can see in the annals of the race. The same applies to Flaming Moon.
Laughifuwant won the race last year but is 12lb higher and his runner-up that day, On A Session, who ran well in that big handicap here on Tuesday, looked overpriced at BETDAQ 13.0.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.35 Deauville (win 20)
BET 6pts win CAIRN GORM
1.45 Sandown (win 20)
BET 4pts win BLESSED
2.50 Deauville (win 20)
BET 4pts win KNOW IT ALL
3.10 Leicester (win 20)
BET 4pts win LION TOWER (nap)
4.20 Galway (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 4pts win ON A SESSION
BULL’S-EYE BET: 2.75pts win BIG BABY BULL
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