130 POINTS FOR SATURDAY KING: They call Paul Nicholls the Saturday king but what about Daqman? After 88 points profit from three big races out of three last Saturday he won two more from three yesterday for another 42 points on the day, and a boost to his value challenge. It’s now Daqman 21, Pricewise 12. Overall: Daqman 129, Pricewise 70.
THAT’S FIVE BIG RACES FROM SIX: Daqman was on the way to another hat-trick but Streams Of Whiskey was injured when leading in the Grimthorpe Chase. Daqman’s winners came in the Greatwood Gold Cup and the Kelso Premier Hurdle. Here are the Saturday-Saturday specials which helped beat Pricewise 4-2:
WON 8-1 Rocky Creek (last Saturday)
WON 5-1 Grendisar (last Saturday)
WON 5-1 Rivellino (NAP, last Saturday)
WON 7-2 Sound Investment (NAP, yesterday)
WON 5-2 Glingerburn (yesterday)
CHELTENHAM COUNTDOWN DAY 1: TAKE 15.5 WORLD HURDLE OFFERS: Daqman makes the headlines before they happen. Just look at yesterday’s: ‘Sound Chance of Another Nicholls Win’ and ‘Stats Tell Us To Stand By Glingerburn.’ Now look out from today for his countdown to Cheltenham and more pre-race headlines.
DJAKADAM THE CREAM ON TOP IN GALLOPS
The Cheltenham dark horses were out last night. Says my man in the long grass: ‘They were all well known, superstars in fact, but the gallops after racing at Leopardstown last night were dark.
‘There was fading light and there were high winds. It looked more like the scene of some old-fashioned gamble being hatched.
‘If it was, then the plot horse for me was Djakadam. He leapt forward a stone by winning the Thyestes at Gowran and last night he looked like the torchbearer lighting up the way.. another stone better. He’s a magnificent animal.’
Praise indeed, since stablemates Un De Sceaux and Vautour were also flying by, while other Cheltenham horses from other top yards were blowing in the wind.
Djakadam is as low as 9-1 in a place or two for the Gold Cup with bookmakers this morning, which makes the 13.0 (to decent liquidity), 13.5 for a smaller amount, look tasty on BETDAQ, as I write.
I shall not be having Gold Cup bets until I suss out the stats and facts race by race, day by day a week in advance, starting Tuesday.
But I pass on those words of my man in the long grass (correction: in this case, he was probably propping up a tall, dark tasty glass. So that’s what he meant by catching the cream on the gallops.. ).
PLAY 15.5 FOR A FESTIVAL POWER SWITCH
The World at her feet? Meanwhile, as I warned you last week, rumours persisted at Leopardstown last night and elsewhere that Annie Power will be switched to the World Hurdle, with the doubt about stablemate Briar Hill, and with the World wide open now that Annie Power’s 2014 conqueror, More Of That, is out.
Annie Power is as short as 7-2 with bookmakers, many more going 4-1, but is 15.5 in the BETDAQ ante-post orange this morning.
Annie Power is a shade of odds on for the Mares’ Hurdle in front of her stablemate Glens Melody, second to Quevega in the race last year.
If Annie Power runs in the World Hurdle, she’ll be only around 5-1 and Glens Melody would shorten to little better than evens for the Mares.
I will be playing bankers in these races on the day, which will absorb small-stakes guesswork today. So, with the world at her feet, I’ll spend 3.4 points to take the 15.5 Annie Power to win 50, and nine points Glens Melody to win 40 in the Mares.
OFFERS OF 23.0 ABOUT A SHREWD STABLE
NAVAN My Djakadam report from Leopardstown came with a Storm warning: beware of the bottomweight in the 3.20 handicap hurdle if there’s a market signal at Navan.
Explanation: Flemenstorm – clearly a son of Flemensfirth and, almost as obviously, out of a Glacial Storm mare – breaks into handicaps today off a rock-bottom rating for a local County Meath trainer in peak form.
Edward Cawley, having his best season in the decade, had two wins in five days from six starters last week, including one here at Navan.
Both winners were backed – in to 11-4 and 9-2 – whereas his losers had SPs of between 11-1 and 100-1.
Cawley runs a shrewd but not very tight ship. So I took 23.0 Flemenstorm on BETDAQ this morning, hoping for a trade.
BAYAN PUTS THE LADBROKE FORM ON SHOW
AUTEUIL The focus remains firmly on the Irish, as they bid to take the prestige –literally – from the French in the Prix Juigne at Auteuil this afternoon (3.10).
Lord Prestige tries to defend this crown and, though first and second last year have since finished well behind both Un De Sceaux and Zarkandar, the third horse, Gemix, won the French Champion Hurdle (Zarkandar third).
Willie Mullins’ Un De Sceaux stable has the favourite today in versatile novice Gitane Du Berlais, who is on a hat-trick but over fences not hurdles.
Not to be confused with the improving Hilton Du Berlais, who is out of another mare in the family, and one of seven CD winners in the race.
As a five-year-old with limited experience over hurdles, Gitane Du Berlais is 20lb inferior in the ratings to Gordon Elliott’s Bayan, though the race conditions allow him almost that much, and he has the benefit of Jacques Ricou’s expertise in the saddle. The McCoy of French jumping, he reached 1,000 winners in 2011.
Bayan took The Ladbroke in December, making his breakthrough into Graded racing, and subsequent results show that form to be standard Grade 3.
That’s a similar level to Gitane Du Berlais and to Hilton Du Berlais, trained by Arnaud Chaille-Chaille, whose La Palmyre stable split with Jacques Ricou in 2009. I fancy a night out on the Hilton.
NO SUMMER BUT THE SUN SHOULD SHINE
HUNTINGDON Lady Cecil’s Perfect Summer (2.00) performed at 1m 4f and 2m on the Flat, which would suggests that the mare needs much more than a quick skip around Huntingdon over the hurdles minimum.
Perfect Summer makes a price for Lanceur, who should be odds on here for being runner-up (the third was 23 lengths back) to Jollyallan, a winner at Kempton and Listed second in hot company at Sandown.
SEDGEFIELD The novices Astigos and Up And Go have plenty of weight against the experienced Sun Cloud (4.10), whose stable is getting 100% from its horses, according to the Racing Post computer.
Astigos mixed in good company at Cheltenham but hasn’t won a race in 39 starts (though he gets a ‘1’ for a walk-over), and Venetia Williams’ yard has slipped out of form.
Up And Go should improve at age seven but his win record in the three years is the beating of only two other horses to finish in a four-horse crawl.
I reckon Sun Cloud, a keen-goer but a stayer, will set off in front and that could be the last they’ll see of him. I took 5.2 on BETDAQ.
DAQMAN’S BETS (Today’s racing: 1 to 9 stakes; jackpot 10)
BET 6pts win LANCEUR (2.00 Huntingdon)
BET 4pts win HILTON DU BERLAIS (3.10 Auteuil)
BET 1pt win and place FLEMENSTORM (3.20 Navan)
BET 7pts win (nap) SUN CLOUD (4.10 Sedgefield)
ANTE-POST (win 50): BET 3.4pts win ANNIE POWER (World Hurdle, Cheltenham, Thursday)
ANTE-POST (win 40): BET 9pts win GLENS MELODY (Mares Hurdle, Cheltenham, Tuesday)
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