RACHAEL’S NATIONAL AND THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING! The race that never fails to grab the headlines did it again yesterday, when Rachael Blackmore on Minella Times became the first woman to ride the winner, and Henry de Bromhead bagged an all-time record haul of Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Gold Cup and Grand National. His one-two in the National was the first since 1908.
THREE WINNERS IN A ROW TWICE FOR DAQMAN AT AINTREE: Daqman was heading for three in the frame in the race that made history but his main chance, Cloth Cap, had to be eased and pulled up when leading, as the favourite (17.0 taken on BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE) gurgled the race away with a wind problem. Daqman ended the meeting with:
🔹 Two winning naps out of three
🔹 Three winners in a row twice
🔹 Lays Logic: 3-3
🔹 New leader: Daqman 7, Pricewise 4
Thursday
WON 10-11 MONMIRAL (nap)
Friday
WON 11-8 CHANTRY HOUSE
WON 2-1 FAKIR D’OUDAIRIES (nap)
WON 15-2 LIVELOVELAUGH
Saturday
WON 11-4 HAPPYGOLUCKY
WON 5-2 THYME HILL
WON 5-4 MY DROGO
OVER TO THE CLASSICS AND THE IRISH ARE AHEAD ALREADY: After Ireland landed a phenomenal 30 winners between Cheltenham (23) and Aintree (7), Daqman turns today to Leopardstown in Aidan O’Brien territory for the first in a week of trials for the 2021 Classics.
RACING GOES FLAT OUT THIS WEEK
False start! That’s how it’s seemed with the opening of the Flat restricted to the Lincoln as a taste without bite, a sandwich between Cheltenham and the Grand National meeting, but today there’s some ‘real racing’ as turf aficionados call it.
The Scottish Grand National intervenes on Saturday and the Irish who have taken 30 pots from Cheltenham and Aintree can look forward to beating themselves for a change at Punchestown (April 27 to May 1).
The ‘real racing’ gets into Classic gear today at Leopardstown with the Guineas Trials. The Spring season looks like this:
Today Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial; 7f
Today Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial; 7f
Today Ballysax Stakes (Group 3), Leopardstown; 1m 2f
Tuesday Feilden Stakes, Newmarket; 1m 1f
Wednesday European Free Handicap, Newmarket; 7f
Wednesday Earl of Sefton Stakes (Group 3), Newmarket; 1m 1f
Thursday Abernant Stakes (Group 3), Newmarket; 6f
Thursday Craven Stakes (Group 3), Newmarket; 1m
Saturday Gladness Stakes, The Curragh (Group 3); 7f
Saturday Alleged Stakes, The Curragh (Group 3); 1m 2f
Saturday John Porter Stakes, Newbury (Group 3); 1m 4f
Saturday Fred Darling Stakes, Newbury (Group 3); 7f
Saturday Greenham Stakes, Newbury (Group 3); 7f
Saturday Newbury Spring Cup (handicap); 1m
SIGNS LOOK GOOD FOR HOROSCOPE
⭕ 2.10 Leopardstown (2,000 Guineas Trial) Aidan O’Brien, who runs three, was on a roll – four in a row – until this three-year-old colts’ Classic test was bagged last summer by Jim Bolger when the hot Ballydoyle favourite broke down.
Ballydoyle were still placed: an outsider at 10-1 was beaten a neck in the delayed race (run in June). But be warned that the last three winners of this never won another race.
Low numbers usually do best and Horoscope in the one stall could restore O’Brien’s interrupted sequence, having already won a race this season, cruising up in his maiden.
We don’t know whether the No Nay Never colt will look as good on today’s better ground. But we do know that O’Brien won this trial with another son of No Nay Never, called Never No More (2019).
Jim Bolger runs a late-season Group-3 winner, Poetic Flare, who missed out the summer months because he wouldn’t stop growing.
Top-rated Monaasib (second in the Group-2 Beresford) has bags of stamina in the pedigree, and another who has won a race already, A Case Of You, beat the O’Brien pair Lipizzaner and Preamble in October’s Anglesey Stakes at The Curragh.
JOAN AND JOSEPHINE ANOTHER 1-2
⭕ 2.40 Leopardstown (1,000 Guineas Trial) Five out of seven winners have come from stalls 2 and 3.
The last two winners have both failed to win another race but before that Jet Setting (2016) would go on to take the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the one-two in 2017, Winter (second) and the winner, Hydrangea, would later bag both English and Irish Guineas and the Champion Fillies and Mares on British Champions Day, all for Aidan O’Brien.
Joan Of Arc, sister to Marvellous, is already a winner at The Curragh, but she is drawn 15 and, though Aidan runs three, Joseph bags Ryan Moore for Shale.
Shale, the Moyglare winner last autumn, is also owned by The Lads. She was beaten twice in quality two-year-old tests on soft ground but has a soundish surface today.
Aidan has the best of draws, stall two, for Minding’s sister Empress Josephine, another winner already this season who looked as though better ground would suit. She has to beat the experience of Shale (3-5 since her debut).
DE BROMHEAD: BUSINESS AS USUAL
⭕ 3.45 Leopardstown (Ballysax Stakes) Aidan O’Brien, who has won this 10 times since the turn of the century, will have everyone on their toes with Bolshoi Ballet.
As a Galileo late foal, Bolshoi Ballet waited until the autumn for a thorough grounding, running three races in three weeks in October. We don’t know how these three-year-olds have grown over the winter but we do know that O’Brien’s quality stable is currently striking at 40%
A runner in the Ballysax is Catena Zapata, trained by Henry De Bromhead. He’s saddled only 23 Flat winners in Ireland in the last five seasons.
But does he now fancy doing a Vincent O’Brien, trainer of three consecutive Grand National winners who turned to the Flat and won six Derbys?
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.10 Leopardstown (win 20)
BET 3.5pts win HOROSCOPE
2.40 Leopardstown (win 20, win 10)
BET 3.75pts win EMPRESS JOSEPHINE
BET 4pts win SHALE
3.45 Leopardstown (win 10, nap)
BET 5pts win BOLSHOI BALLET
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