LIFE IS GOOD! DAQMAN DAY TO REMEMBER WITH SIX CUP STRIKES: Daqman landed six Breeders Cup winners in 24 hours, as his Saturday in Del Mar dawned with an early-hours winner on the tail-end of Friday’s card, a prelude to five more, including 17-2 Breeders Cup Turf hero Ybir, and finishing with the £2.25m Classic winner, Knicks Go, 40 minutes into Sunday.
WON (No SP) MODERN GAMES (BETDAQ 3.5) Juvenile Turf colts
WON 7-10 LIFE IS GOOD Breeders Cup Dirt Mile
WON 43-10 LOVES ONLY YOU Filly And Mare Turf
WON 21-10 SPACE BLUES Breeders Cup Turf Mile
WON 17-2 YBIR Breeders Cup Turf
WON 16-5 KNICKS GO Breeders Cup Classic Dirt
80-1 AND 40-1 BIG-RACE JUMPING SHOCKS STUN THE PUNTERS: Meanwhile it was pinstickers’ day in England: Koshari (80-1) then Mac Tottie (Grand Sefton 20-1) won at Aintree; Vesela (22-1) and Boosala (22-1) took consecutive races at Doncaster; and Rocco at 40-1 won the Badger Beer at Wincanton. Disillusioned punters? See Daqman next week.
THE STARS OF THE BREEDERS CUP
GOLDEN PAL The Lads (Magnier, Tabor, Smith) won with a trainer away from their Coolmore empire when Wesley Ward’s Golden Pal broke fast from gate 3 under Irad Ortiz and was never headed in the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint, confirming Ward’s assessment, ‘best I’ve trained.’
Also ran: 4 Emaraaty Ana, 5 A Case Of You, 8 Glass Slippers.
LIFE IS GOOD Then it was another make-all for Iraz Ortiz: Life Is Good just kept pulling away from them in the Dirt Mile. ‘Sky’s the limit next year,’ declared trainer Todd Fletcher. A world-wide Fortune Cookie!
LOVES ONLY YOU The Japanese finally arrived on the world scene when this five-year-old squeezed through courageously to take the Filly and Mare for Yoshito Yahagi, ridden tenaciously by Yuga Kawada.
Also ran: 4 Love, 5 Audarya, 6 Ocean Road, 9 Acanella, 12 Queen Supreme.
SPACE BLUES Just so powerful! The Charlie Appleby five-year-old surged and surged again for William Buick, following up his 7f heavy-ground Prix La Foret with the Turf Mile on fast.
Also ran: 6 Pearls Galore, 9 Real Appeal, 10 Mother Earth
YBIR Winner of the £390k Jockey Club Derby at Belmont for Charlie Appleby, the gelding bagged another £1.5m the hard way in the Breeders Cup Turf, coming wide to get up half a length under William Buick.
Also ran: 2 Broome, 3 Teona, 4 Japan, 6 Bolshoi Ballet, 9 Walton Street, 11 Tarnawa
KNICKS GO The £2.25m-to-the-winner Breeders Cup Classic (1m 2f dirt) is the ultimate finale, the Americans’ race of the meeting. But it was a one-horse affair: Knicks Go (Joel Rosario for Brad Cox) was never headed, following up his Dirt Mile victory of a year ago at Keeneland.
PROMISE FROM A STAYING FAMILY
⭕ 12.30 Sandown Dr Richard Newland felt that his French acquisition Jesuitique was rated higher there than the 110 given to him by the English handicapper, and he duly carried that to victory at Worcester in October.
Punished only 5lb, he has 10st 12lb today in a race won six years out of eight from below 11st.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE 10.5 Jesuitique in the Each Way Market.
⭕ 1.00 Sandown Favourites go for a five-timer in this novices handicap chase but what will punters latch on to during the morning? So far it’s Minella Trump (2.84 fronting the BETDAQ orange).
The market also tells us that Fugitives Drift probably needs more time; seemed to take well to fences in the Spring but has not been seen since. BETDAQ 13.0 as I write.
Another who caught the eye at that time was Mahler’s Promise, a natural jumper related to some top-line staying chasers. He’s 15.0; that’s to be expected but he’s probably overpriced four or five points.
Gordon Elliott, who has a full hand at Navan, sends over a lone raider in O Connell Street, with form figures of 121 in the North of England and bottomweight today.
He gets 9lb from Minella Trump, who three weeks back completed a four-timer of novice chases in the North. Punters don’t know what to make of him and he’s easy at 8.8.
Fifty Ball is ‘expected’ (at 3.65) for in-form Gay Moore: always runs well after a break but this is his debut over fences, as it is for Paul Nicholls’ Sending Love (12.0).
I shall take an interest – Mahler’s Promise – but it’s a novices’ handicap purely for observational purposes. Eyes down but don’t stick your nose out!
KING IS GOING ON TO VICTORY
⭕ 2.45 Sandown A double at Wincanton yesterday, including Sceau Royal’s success in the Elite Hurdle, gave Alan King his seventh winner in seven days.
His sole Sunday runner is last year’s November Handicap winner On To Victory (BETDAQ 3.2), who was third here over hurdles at Sandown in the Novices Championship Final in the Spring, after two out of three at Warwick and Wincanton.
Hudson De Grugy won two small-field Sandown hurdles at the start of the year; a big, strong type who may need the run.
⭕ 3.15 Sandown Ten-year-olds have a big advantage in these veterans’ chases, when you think that three horses here will be 13 in a couple of months.
Mr Mafia belies his age but has had 65 races now; he’s back to his highest ever mark, up 16lb since August.
It’s four years since Dancing Shadow won but the handicapper won’t let him off the hook. He was third when Vivas was runner–up at Chepstow recently.
Sub Lieutenant’s losing run goes back three years. Singlefarmpayment is still well handicapped but has never won after a break. Gwencily Berbas is 1-20 over fences.
My scenario for the race is a front-running ride by David Bass on Wandrin Star (I took 5.2). He tried to make all at Ascot in November last year but was run out of it by a head. This is a poor renewal and he might hang on in there after his wind op.
DAQMAN’S BETS
12.30 Sandown (win 10)
BET 1pt each-way JESUITIQUE
1.00 Sandown (win 15)
BET 1pt each-way MAHLER’S PROMISE
2.45 Sandown (win 10 nap)
BET 4.75pts win ON TO VICTORY
3.15 Sandown (win 10)
BET 2.25pts win WANDRIN STAR
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
