IT’S ALL TO PLAY FOR AT SANDOWN: A one-two in the Scottish version yesterday after his 1-2-3 in the Aintree Grand National Liverpool last Saturday puts Willie Mullins within an ace of the trainers’ title. The millions won are:
Dan Skelton 3,104,425
Willie Mullins 3,102,994
Just two aces remain to be played next Saturday: Sandown’s Gold Cup (£98,473 to the winner) and Celebration Chase (£97,270 to the winner).
STUNNING STRIKE RATES: Meanwhile the 2025 Flat has Andrew Balding (four winners yesterday) still five behind AW king Tony Carroll but Daqman at Musselburgh today sides with two trainers with stunning strike rates.
ZARIGANA COULD BE A STAR
⭕ 3.25 Longchamp Daqman has had a 5-1 winner and an odds-on supernap in the French Classic trials so far.
This one for fillies, the Prix de la Grotte, should put Zarigana on the road to their 1,000 Guineas and more, with a pedigree to die for: by Siyouni, sire of Paddington, Sottsass and St Mark’s Basilica, out of a Frankel mare.
TAKING A SHINE TO GOLDIE
⭕ 3.45 Musselburgh Jim Goldie does a Willie Mullins with 13 runners on the card as Musselburgh switches from the Jumps to the Flat in a seven-race tea-time fixture
Goldie’s yard south of Glasgow raids Edinburgh, taking a 26% AW strike rate (20 winners from 76 runners) onto grass.
A 16-1 shot out of gate 12 took this opening handicap for him a year ago and he has Shine On Brendan two stalls away today (14).
The eight-year-old is a BETDAQ 11.0 Goldie hope for an early transition to grass. He had back-to-back success in the autumn for nine wins and 16 other places on turf, none at all on AW.
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL..
⭕ 4.45 Musselburgh Goldie also won this sprint last year out of gate 13 and has a good morning bet at BETDAQ 7.8 lining up today.
Eternal Sunshine (stall 15) landed five wins out of seven for him last summer under Paul Mulrennan, one of them on this course drawn highest of 10. He had a run back here a class higher 11 days ago.
Stablemate Classy Al was third last year out of 14, but has been drawn 2 this afternoon
Only Spoofing (14) was third in Ireland eight days back and was a warm order when the book for today’s race opened, despite his 11 years.
I took 9.4 offers about Zarzyni (16), who won at Musselburgh in September by a head, giving 6lb to the runner-up.
That was none other than Eternal Sunshine, who gets a pound to help her revenge mission.
SPORTING DOUBLE CHANCE
⭕ 5.15 Musselburgh This is a middle-distance contest won last year by James Owen, who is reliable and versatile.
He certainly knows his horses and places them incredibly well: his score of 32 this year shows a 50% winners-to-runners strike rate.
Since the beginning of April he has won on AW three times, had a Flat (turf) double at Leicester and picked up a hurdle race at Plumpton.
Sportingsilvermine scored first time out on AW in March after moving to the Newmarket yard from Tipperary but it followed a maiden run of 18 races, so the bounce factor is a worry.
Rebecca Menzies has had an excellent run of six winners since the turn of the month. Impressive that those starting favourite have finished 12011.
She has a couple of outsiders today with offers that belie their chances: Golden Rainbow in the 4.45 and Spartan Warrior in this one.
DAQMAN’S BETS on Betdaq Betting Exchange
★ 3.25 Longchamp (supernap)
BET 20pts win ZARIGANA
3.45 Musselburgh (win 20)
BET 2pts win SHINE ON BRENDAN
4.45 Musselburgh (win 20 each)
BET 3pts win ETERNAL SUNSHINE
BET 2.4pts win ZARZYNI
BET 1pt win (48.0) and place (10.0) GOLDEN RAINBOW
5.15 Musselburgh (win 14)
BET 5pts win SPORTINGSILVER
BET 1pt win (35.0) and place (7.4) SPARTAN WARRIOR
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