DON DAQMAN LANDS 60-POINT BULL’S EYE AFTER 101 OAKS HIT: Daqman top-rated Anthony Van Dyck among his previews but picked the wrong one on the day from the lotto finish to the Derby, which he says was won by the jockey. Daqman had already hit the jackpot for the second day running, scooping 60 points from a 5-1 bull’s-eye nap on Saturday’s opening race. His two Epsom big-hitters put him 27-13 up on Pricewise in his value challenge:
WON 8-1 ANAPURNA (101 points, Oaks bulls eye and double)
WON 5-1 LE DON DE VIE (60 points, win/place bull’s-eye nap)
KING CROWN COULD ROLL IN O’BRIEN BID FOR DERBY DOUBLE: What did you think of yesterday’s Derby? What’s going to win today’s Derby? Yes, there’s another Classic confrontation today with a fascinating French Derby at Chantilly, raided by Aidan O’Brien (two Derbys in two days?), John Gosden, Roger Varian and Andrew Balding in a bid to topple home champion Persian King. Daqman analyses yesterday and today.
ARTIST SEAMIE VAN DYCK DYNAMO
It was a work of riding art. Seamie Heffernan stole the Derby on Anthony Van Dyck with a left turn and rails finish away from the shoulder-to-shoulder camber clash which saw five horses separated by only threequarters of a length at the line.
That’s not a Derby for the gallery of fame. ‘When they’re all of a heap, they’re all pretty cheap!’ the old touts used to say, and you can run such a race again and again and get different results on the day and on different tracks.
Any Classic value was redeemed by Madhmoon’s second on the back of his Newmarket Guineas fourth. My one, Sir Dragonet, nosed in front but Ryan Moore’s stick had no rhythm to it – just desperate driving – not a champion meeting for him after the defeat of Pink Dogwood in the Oaks.
Shades of Frankie Dettori on Anapurna, but bolder, Seamie sidestepped the centre-ground skirmish and railed with a rhythm and a purpose that he skipped clear of the multiple photo in a picture perfect finish that resigned the others to minor placings in the frame. It should be known as Seamie’s Derby; the horses may not matter.
SLALOM ON ICE FOR FRENCH DERBY
3.25 Chantilly (Prix du Jockey Club) Another day, another Derby. At least, they still reckon it their Derby, though it’s run close to the Eclipse distance.
It doesn’t much help the French form in their own grand-prix backyard or in the Arc. Even when you’re aware of that, it still smacks you between the eyes to see that the last two Jockey Club winners have raced a total of eight times since for not a solitary success.
That means England and Ireland oughta be over there, stealing their silver. So it is that there’s a six-strong raiding party today, trying to emulate pathfinder Kevin Ryan who won it with The Grey Gatsby in 2014, the first Englishman to score since Michael Jarvis took the prize over the genuine Derby distance of 1m 4f at the turn of the century.
Ballydoyle has been there, of course, but not with any great shout, and Aidan O’Brien has big-odds outsiders again today.
Cape Of Good Hope The exception among his trio is Cape of Good Hope, winner of the Blue Riband Derby Trial at Epsom in April, over today’s 10 furlongs or so.
Collateral form has him about six lengths behind Anthony Van Dyck, on a line through the Blue Riband runner-up (ironically called Cap Francais), who was fourth in Van Dyck’s Lingfield Derby Trial.
Blenheim Palace Seamie Heffernan rides Blenheim Palace, who was fourth in the Derrinstown trial to the Epsom Derby fourth, Broome. Mohawk Donnacha O’Brien’s partner, Mohawk, second to yesterday’s sixth, Circus Maximus, in the Dee Stakes at Chester, has since finished eighth in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
Raise You Andrew Balding, whose Bangkok failed to act at Epsom, saddles the progressive Raise You, by a French Derby winner out of a Galileo mare.
Kick On (John Gosden), the Feilden Stakes winner, was one paced in the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas but always had this Chantilly main target.
Surfman, four lengths adrift of Too Darn Hot behind Telecaster in the Dante, looked to me as though he needed at least 1m 4f.
Persian King Though the home ace, Persian King (Andre Fabre), is hot in the market, it hasn’t stopped Fabre himself and Jean-Claude Rouget (three French Derbys each in the decade) from saddling potential improvers against him.
Shaman Only a neck off Magna Grecia last autumn, Persian King is 2-2 this term, taking the French 2,000 Guineas on heavy ground by a diminishing margin from Shaman, who had pipped Rockemperor (Roman Candle third) in the top prep for the race, the Prix la Force.
Motamarris (Freddy Head) is unbeaten and could be anything, after a hat-trick completed by a soft-ground success over today’s CD.
Scotsass (Rouget) also won his trial over today’s CD, form franked recently by the runner-up.
Slalom (Fabre), another coming here after a hat-trick, looks best of the progressive and yet unexposed runners. By the 2013 French Derby winner Intello, who was third in the Arc.
VERDICT It seems a strong race and we’re looking for an edge here! Six of the last eight winners were drawn 10 or lower, so I shall definitely have Slalom on my side, reluctantly leaving out Raise You because of his free-running style.
I scrubbed Kick On from the Fortune Cookies and put Surfman in (for a Leger?). This certainly seems too short for Surfman, too fast for him, though Roger Varian and Andrea Atzeni are in great form and know more than I do.
But Kick On was earmarked for this by the punter’s godsend BEFORE the Guineas, where he finished little more than a length behind Madhmoon. He might just split the Andre Fabre stars and prevent a home one-two.
ORDER IN: 1 Slalom, 2 Kick On, 3 Persian King
BETDAQ VALUE: I took 9.0 Slalom this morning, and a tempting 16.0 Kick On. The 7-5 or so Persian King was unattractive (similar 11-8 with bookies), though many will pile in, still hoping for a Classic superstar this season.
IT’S A MAJOR CHANTILLY CHANCE
2.05 Chantilly (Prix du Gros-Chene) Inns Of Court gave weight and a beating to Sestilio Jet in the Prix Saint-Georges, but Major Jumbo gets his ground after defeats on a sound surface by Abbaye winner Mabs Cross and the new speed star, Invincible Army.
2.10 Nottingham Richard Hannon, who landed winner number 1,000 via Anna Nerium yesterday, has Beignet ready to enhance his 50% strike rate in two-year-old races here at Colwick Park.
Al Aakif will make a price for us. His sire was beaten on his two-year-old debut and William Haggas has failed to get off the mark with his juveniles so far.
2.25 Fakenham Betdaq brand ambassador Harry Whittington (currently 4-5) expects to saddle Sirobble to a hat-trick, after a weight rise of only 8lb for back-to-back wins, most of it offset by the claim of his capable amateur rider this afternoon.
3.55 Nottingham (Nottinghamshire Oaks) With Sir Michael Stoute striking at 50%, Sun Maiden drops down from Group level to try for this Listed reward, after pacemaking for stablemate Rawdaa when that one was beaten a neck by Lah Ti Dar at York.
DAQMAN’S TIPS
2.05 Chantilly (win 20)
BET 8pts win MAJOR JUMBO
2.10 Nottingham (win 20)
BET 8pts win BEIGNET
3.25 Chantilly (win 50)
BULL’S EYE BET: 6.25pts win SLALOM
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3.3pts win KICK ON
3.55 Nottingham (supernap)
BET 20pts win SUN MAIDEN
DAQ MULTIPLES
3pts win treble
BEIGNET (2.10 Nottingham)
SIROBBLE (2.25 Fakenham)
SUN MAIDEN (3.55 Nottingham)
FORTUNE COOKIES
SURFMAN (3.25 Chantilly)
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