DAQMAN COLUMN HAS 20-1 BLAKLION FOR THE NATIONAL: Daqman has an ante-post big hitter every season – Cause Of Causes (44-1), Enable (25-1) – and he’s already got massive ‘overs’ on the 2018 Grand National, putting up yesterday’s Becher winner, Blaklion, for Aintree in his column of November 27 when 20-1 with Corals, and he’s now at least half the price, as low as 9-1 and 10-1.
BIG-RACE DOUBLE SO NOW HE’S 9-2 AHEAD OF PRICEWISE: Yesterday Blaklion, which he tipped for the Becher when 6-1, gave an exhibition round of jumping the National fences, before more exhibition big-race tipping from Daqman to win the Tingle Creek with Politologue and go 9-2 up on Pricewise, who again drew a blank. Today: 2.20 Cork.
10-1 MAGNIFICENT MILLY COMPLETES BIG DAY AT AINTREE: There were three winners on the day for Daqman, with a 10-1 winner at Liverpool adding to his big-race double. Only on Friday he had made nearly 60 points profit from a supernap and a 5-1 hit.
WON 10-1 FAMOUS MILLY
WON 7-2 POLITOLOGUE (Tingle Creek Chase)
WON 7-4 BLAKLION (Becher Chase)
ABANDONED: Huntingdon and Kelso today are off.
O’BRIEN REELS IN BIG FISH No. 28
Another Group 1, another million. While the battle with the elements at home is won and lost, Aidan O’Brien’s amazing sunshine season continues.
Early this morning, in his inimitable fashion, Highland Reel won his second Hong Kong Vase to take the entire Ballydoyle team (as Aidan will have it) on to 28 Group-1 wins this year.
Yet, again, just when he seemed beaten in a blanket finish, Highland Reel – ‘very brave off a brilliant Ryan Moore ride’ – reasserted to score by a length and threequarters. The quotes are O’Brien’s.
This was the five-year-old’s swansong; the final Highland fling. He now retires to stud, yet another flag flying for family Galileo.
MONKSHOOD COULD BE MAGIC
1.50 Cork: This 3m stayers’ novice hurdle is the first of three Graded races at Cork, a cracking confrontation of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, who share four of the six runners.
But it’s not been a two-horse race, stable wise. Noel Meade has won it four times since 2007, so we can assume that his Cork CD winner, Moyross, will get into the action.
So many quality novices are allowed to lead, or track the leader, in their early races, and it’s hard to know who, waited with, can pounce on this six-strong field of 17 wins.
Granny Biddy and Moyross (for Meade) are the only Cork winners, and Moyross alone has scored at 3m, seeing off Minella Beau (Mullins) in the process.
But that one was beaten much further by Monkshood (Elliott), who led several times at different stages of the race, and really won as he liked.
DJAK-JOHN CRUNCH HAT-TRICK
2.05 Punchestown (John Durkan Memorial) Djakadam pitches for a hat-trick in this race, but was short-headed by Sizing John here in the Punchestown Gold Cup in April.
Djakadam was further behind Sizing John in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, so in fact John is also on a hat-trick bid today.. over Djakadam!
They are around 10lb clear of anything else in the field, so even money Sizing John just has to be taken. The ground favours Djakadam but Sizing John remains the improver, with Djakadam winning only once in two years.
BOLGER’S BALLY GOOD CHANCE
2.20 Cork (Hilly Way Chase) There have been nine Hilly Way wins and a third in 10 years for Willie Mullins, notably with Douvan last year at this time.
Douvan won it off 169 so Un De Sceaux (rated 167), the Tingle Creek and Cheltenham Ryanair winner, is a worthy deputy, with Douvan still sidelined.
We saw with Politologue yesterday, the young bloods can progress very quickly. But, in fact, Clarcam (29), Top Gamble (17) and Ball d’Arc (15) have all run in more chases than Un De Sceaux (13), so it’s hard to anticipate further improvement, and they are 9lb and (much) more off the favourite.
Woodland Opera is only 2lb better than he was in May, according to the handicapper. But Enda Bolger’s Ballyoisin went up two stone in that time.
He was beaten only half a length in a Grade 2 last month by Disko, who finished six lengths in front of Politologue when third to Yorkhill at the Cheltenham festival, albeit Politologue himself is now a stone better animal.
Un De Sceaux prefers further and his form for his first run back is FF1, with his 2017 Tingle Creek win not without drama over a 10-year-old veteran. No young bloods emerged that time. Ballyoisin (5.4 BETFAQ offers) might do today.
DAQMAN’S BETS (each staked to win 20 points)
BET 10pts win MONKSHOOD (1.50 Cork)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win SIZING JOHN (2.05 Punchestown)
BET 4.75pts win BALLYOISIN (2.20 Cork)
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