WINNERS DAY ON DAY WITH DAQMAN: Still Daqman keeps going! Saturday was his sixth consecutive day with an overall profit, thanks to a Derby winner and a banker, making a total of 13 returns in the six days.
CAN TODAY MAKE IT A WHOLE WEEK? Daqman started the year with five consecutive weeks in profit but – if he can win again today – this will be his first week of the year with a profit every single day of seven successive days.
DAQMAN’S 11-2 WINTER DERBY WIN
DERBY WINNER SO SIX DAYS OF PROFIT: What a way to warm up for Cheltenham.. with a Derby winner! Thanks to Convey (WON Winter Derby 11-2), Daqman finished ahead for the sixth consecutive day yesterday, and landed a fifth consecutive banker. With one day left today, the week with Daqman has produced:
- SIX winning days in a row
- 13 winning bets
- 129 points profit to recommended stakes
- FIVE consecutive winning bankers
- FIVE naps up out of six
- Daqman 16, Pricewise 9
FIVE CONSECUTIVE WINNING BANKERS: The banker nap, Frodon (WON 8-11), was the second winner already from just three runners in his new horses-to-follow list geared to Cheltenham. His five winning bankers:
WON 8-13 Bandon Roc
WON 2-1 Watersmeet
WON 4-9 Cue Card
WON 1-3 Paint The Clouds (gold)
WON 8-11 Frodon
FIVE NAPS WORTH 253 POINTS PROFIT: Daqman’s five winning naps out of six have made a profit of 253 points to 20 points level stakes.
WON 8-1 Coolking (Monday)
WON 7-2 Tommy Silver (Tuesday)
WON 1-3 Paint The Clouds (Wednesday gold banker)
WON 11-10 Gilgamesh (Friday)
WON 8-11 Frodon (Saturday banker)
48.0 ON BETDAQ ABOUT TRIUMPH 8-1: Daqman warned yesterday: ‘Master Blueyes has surprised Alan King and may yet be a Cheltenham contender; and, if you want a bet before today’s race, you can get 48.0 in the BETDAQ Triumph window.’ Master Blueyes is now as short as 8-1 in a place with bookmakers for the Triumph Hurdle.
9.2 LE ROCHER LOOKS UNDERRATED
3.00 Fontwell (National Spirit Hurdle) Lil Rockefeller landed his second Grade-2 success in this a year ago, and can be forgiven his last two defeats.
The first was in Grade-1. The second was at Cheltenham, where he has always struggled up the hill and missed strike (form figures there 320).
His first problem today is the Nicky Henderson horses ganging up on him: hurdles hat-trick winner Different Gravey returns to the smaller obstacles, and Rockerfeller was 13 lengths behind his stablemate, L’Ami Serge, in the Relkeel Hurdle.
On official ratings, Different Gravey has 8lb to spare under today’s race conditions over both Lil Rockerfeller and L’Ami Serge.
But the Relkeel was won by Agripart, whose stable saddles Le Rocher, back to form on the last day and also getting 8lb from the penalized horses.
Le Rocher seems underrated because of an absence through injury. He’s won both a Grade 1 and a Grade 2 since beating L’Ami Serge at the end of his French career.
Yet, though Serge has scored only at novice level and in Listed grade since, and has bridesmaid form figures of 232223, he has 152 and Le Rocher 143. In an eight-runner race, Le Rocher’s 9.2 this morning looks good for win and place, where you have three chances to cover your win stake.
QUICK! GEAR UP TO VELOCITY BOY
3.20 Naas Punchestown winner Edwulf (3.20) has had that form boosted by success for the runner-up. Edwulf himself was then fancied for the Grade-2 Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan a week ago but was not fluent and fell.
A trainer has two choices in that situation. If he thinks his horse has a season ahead of him, he brings him out quickly and tries to have the fall erased from the horse’s mind. The alternative is to give him a holiday.
Though Cheltenham and Aintree may now look out of reach, Punchestown is a probable route, his having won there and all.
Velocity Boy also won at Punchestown earlier in the month and the runner-up, Robin Thyme, had finished a similar distance behind Edwulf. It suggests that the 11lb the Boy receives from Edwulf today is far too much.
A Great View should stay if influenced by the dam’s side and so could step up in trip today, but they will be wanting to hold him up and everything suggests that Velocity Boy will try to make all the running, and might well get away from them: 6.8 was value on BETDAQ this morning.
JUST A SECOND: I’VE FOUND A NAP
3.50 Naas The five others to finish behind Any Second Now (3.50) in a Grade 2 at Punchestown were all winners before or after that event.
Peace News and Pravalaguna both wear headgear first time, which has the look of desperation. Both won their maiden hurdles, then seemed to go backwards, and there are doubts about the ground for Pravalaguna.
Labaik is a morning glory. He’d win the Champion Hurdle at home but – also since breaking his maiden – he has recorded ‘awkward start’ (once) and ‘refused to race’ (twice).
It’s D-Day for Joey Sasa. Does he go for the Supreme or the County Hurdle, or does he stay at home? Heavy ground here has his trainer, Noel Meade, worried that he won’t learn much today.
In the circumstances, 1.99 about Any Second Now – let’s call it evens – is good value, and he deserve the nap vote.
VERDICT: I think all my three today are value in their own right. With the target a seventh day of profit, I shall back them so that one winner will clear any losses on the two others and leave me a point or two in plus. Of course, I’m hoping for three!
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 2.5pts win (to win 20) and 2.5pts place LE ROCHER (3.00 Fontwell)
BET 3.5pts win (to win 20) VELOCITY BOY (3.20 Naas)
BANKER BET 14pts win at evens (nap) ANY SECOND NOW (3.50 Naas)
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