WORLD RECORD CELEBRATION AT SAINT-CLOUD: Aidan O’Brien could celebrate his world record tally of Group-1 wins with even more at Saint-Cloud today. Daqman takes on Pricewise with some bold bets at Aintree, with the scores 83-21, Daqman remaining 319 points clear to a single-unit stake.
ROOSEVELT ANOTHER FOR O’BRIEN
Spare a thought for Oisin Murphy. He seemed to have the Lion home over the Warrior but the colt swerved away the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster yesterday.
Aidan O’Brien, whose great day this was, will remember how his Gleneagles hung away the Lagardere but came back to win two Guineas the following year.
And the new world Group-1 champion will worry about Golden Lion and John Gosden all through the long winter of nursing Saxon Warrior into his Classic year. Is it Murphy’s Law that such a loser gets his revenge?
I went for The Pentagon (3rd 10-1), who stayed on like a Derby horse. I napped Le Prezien, beaten a neck, and my best outsider, Sole d’Leau, went down half a length at 25-1. Yes, I know how Oisin Murphy feels!
But the powerful play goes on and O’Brien could make it 27, even 28, Group 1s at Saint-Cloud this afternoon.
1.35 Criterium Saint-Cloud A Galileo again? No, a Galileo-Again! Delano Roosevelt is by Galileo out of Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, Again.
He was second to Saxon Warrior, beaten two and a half lengths in the Beresford, and third to Nelson, beaten three and threequarter lengths in the Leopardstown Champions Juvenile, with Kew Gardens splitting them.
O’Brien runs all three today, with Ryan Moore bucking that form, by choosing Delano, who should not even beat the second horse in the Champions Juvenile, Kew Gardens.
But Delano was favourite at Leopardstown that day and had to be switched, and was backable this morning, exchanging at 2.94.
2.45 Saint-Cloud (Criterium Interational) Ballydoyle’s Threeandfourpence was fourth in the Dewhurst, form let down by Seahenge in the Racing Post race yesterday.
So, too, James Tate’s Hay Gaman, a neck behind Seahenge at Doncaster in September.
Yesterday at Newbury, Horris Hill third, Mythical Magic, didn’t give us any confidence in Cascadian, whom he beat at Deauville in August.
Karl Burke’s Ellthe has also been running like a Group-3 colt, whereas Sacred Life, winner at that level over today’s Saint-Cloud CD on today’s ground, looked as though he need this step up to Group 1.
BOB PREPPED FOR VETERANS’ RACE
12.40 Aintree Irish Points winners, On The Blind Side, Global Citizen and New Quay, were joined at the front of the market by a punt on Perfect Harmony this morning.
One I’m told to keep on the right side is Costly Dream (out to 40.0 on BETDAQ) but Global Citizen (3.55 offers) should be the one today in a race which could be full of future winners.
1.15 Aintree William Featherstone (Red Infantry 5.8 morning favourite) and Ciaran Gethings (Cyclop 15.5) have both won this conditionals’ race before.
1.50 Aintree Two good things about veterans’ events. They have excellent prizemoney so the fields are strong. The runners have been around for years, so we know all about them.
Man-in-form Nigel Twiston-Davies has already won this three times including with Benbens but no 12-year-old has scored in the nine years of the race.
Bob Tucker (18.0 BETDAQ offers) prepped for this with a spin round Ludlow; gets the trip and likes the ground. No Planning (23.0) and Theatrical Star (10.0) also caught the eye in recent runs back.
2.25 Aintree Return Flight was favourite to beat yesterday’s big winner, Foxtail Hill, over fences in January.
He’s a front-runner; he’s a Kayf Tara. So this return to hurdles at 14.5 could see him making all, or nearly so.
Clondaw Kaempfer (24.0 offers) is nine now but loves Aintree and might have won a Grade-3 hurdle at the National meeting but for sprawling at the last. Never out of the frame when returning fresh at this time of year.
ALWAYS-PLACED DREAM HORSE RUNS
3.00 Aintree (Old Roan Chase) Now named after Monet’s Garden, who made this race his own. Can Third Intention do a repeat like he did?
The market says not but the stats say yes: five of the last nine winners were of double-figure age, and Third Intention, who won the novices first time up at this meeting in 2013, also took this Old Roan on his winter debut a year ago.
Shantou Village (4.6 on BETDAQ) has an even better record after a break and the stable showed a return to form by winning small races this week.
Cloudy Dream (7.2 offers) has never out of the frame in 14 Jumps races, but Bouvreuil has a poor strike rate (1-9 over fences) and his Aintree form – hurdles, regulation fences and Grand National obstacles – is 040.
DAQMAN’S BETS
12.40 Aintree (to win 20, minimum stake 1pt)
BET 7.75pts win GLOBAL CITIZEN
BET 1pt win and place COSTLY DREAM
1.15 Aintree (to win 20)
BET 4pts win RED INFANTRY
BET 1.5pts win and place CYCLOP
1.35 Saint-Cloud (to win 20)
BET 9pts win DELANO ROOSEVELT
1.50 Aintree (to win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 5pts THEATRICAL STAR
BULL’S-EYE BET 3pts win and place BOB TUCKER
BULL’S-EYE BET 2.25pts win and place NO PLANNING
2.25 Aintree (to win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 3.75pts win and place RETURN FLIGHT
BULL’S EYE BET 2pts win and place CLONDAW KAEMPFER
2.45 Saint-Cloud (to win 30)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win SACRED LIFE
3.00 Aintree (to win 30)
BET 8pts win SHANTOU VILLAGE
BET 4.75pts win CLOUDY DREAM
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