TOP OF HIS GAME! DAQMAN ON A ROLL AT CHELTENHAM: Daqman had a return in five consecutive races when he tipped in the first six events at Cheltenham yesterday, bringing his total to eight wins in the first two days. He’s now had at least one winner per day for 15 consecutive days. His Wednesday nap, Tiger Roll (WON 5-4), won as he pleased.
Yesterday
WIN City Island (WON 8-1, from 10.5 BETDAQ)
WIN Topofthegame (WON 4-1)
WIN Ballyandy (3rd 14-1, w/p from 24.0 BETDAQ)
WIN Sceau Royal (3rd 16-1, Special Place bet)
WIN Tiger Roll, nap (WON 5-4)
Tuesday
WIN Vintage Clouds (2nd 16-1, w/p from BETDAQ 26.0)
WIN A Plus Tard (WON 5-1, from BETDAQ 8.5)
WIN Le Breuil (WON 14-1, w/p from BETDAQ 18.5)
NOW HE’S 40 POINTS PROFIT IN FRONT OF PRICEWISE: Daqman shot 20 wins clear of Pricewise as he nailed him in race after race yesterday, and boosted his profits so that he now leads his Racing Post rival by 40 points. Daqman’s state of play:
➡️ WINNER-A-DAY: 31 wins over 15 consecutive days
➡️ BEST BETS: Six winning naps out of eight
➡️ BULL’S-EYE NAPS: Three from three (no losers)
➡️ FORTUNE COOKIES: 446.76 points profit
➡️ ANTE-POST (Cheltenham): Loss 17.25 points
➡️ DAQMAN 39, PRICEWISE 19 (Daqman +41 points, Pricewise +1)
PAISLEY PARK THE 40-POINT BANKER OF THE MEETING: The Fortune Cookies, which made over 600 points profit in the run-up to Cheltenham, have not fared well this week but have their big day today. Look out for the 20-pointers at the start of each race analysis. With another 20 points as a supernap, Paisley Park becomes the 40-point banker of the meeting.
MULLINS TO STEEL IT AGAIN – OFFICIAL
1.30 Cheltenham (JLT Novices’ Chase)
FORTUNE COOKIES: Lostintranslation
BREEDING: Lostintranslation, Voix Du Reve, Capeland
RATINGS: Real Steel, Defi Du Seuil, Voix Du Reve
TRAINER: W Mullins (4). JOCKEY: R Walsh (3)
STATS: The Irish have won seven out of eight since the name changed from the Golden Miller Chase.
FORM: Defi Du Seuil and Lostintranslation have beaten each other in successive races; likewise Voix Du Reve and Mengli Khan.
Triumph Hurdle winner Defi Du Seuil comfortably beat yesterday’s winner Topofthegame at Exeter before taking revenge on Lostintranslation in the Scilly Isles Chase (Vinndication third). The handicapper says there’s a pound between the two as they face off a third time.
BETDAQ VALUE: But the handicapper also insists that Willie Mullins’ Real Steel is top rated, even though that one has not run in Graded events. He could be the value this morning at 7.8, bearing in mind that we are already on Lostintranslation as a Fortune Cookie.
BOYHOOD ‘MASSIVE’ AT BETDAQ 26.0
2.10 Cheltenham (Pertemps Hurdle Final)
FORTUNE COOKIES: Boyhood.
BREEDING: Sire Du Berlais, First Assignment, Samburu Shujaa, Thermistocles, Champers On Ice.
RATINGS: handicap
TRAINERS: P G Kelly (2), D Pipe (2). JOCKEYS: D Russell (3)
STATS: In the last three years, the winner has come from the Punchestown qualifier (A Toi Phil fourth). But younger horses seem to have taken over, so check out First Assignment, Samburu Shujaa, Not Many Left and Padleyourowncanoe.
FORM: Champers On Ice was third in the Albert Bartlett here three years ago, and he ran well at Haydock after a long break.
The Leopardstown qualifier went to Cuneo from Walk To Freedom and Thermistocles. Sire Du Berlais, fourth in last year’s Martin Pipe, was sixth, coming from a long way back, and is best in at the weights of the quartet but Walk To Freedom also finished well from an unpromising position that day.
Similarly, A Toi Phil came from well out of his ground in the kingmaker Punchestown qualifier.
Boyhood has a 12lb pull on First Assignment (one-two over the Cheltenham 3m in November but on the Old course). Aaron Lad was a CD winner on today’s New course in a race that has produced the winner of the Final five times.
BETDAQ VALUE: We have a massive earner if Boyhood (26.0 this morning) can pull this off. My reserve was going to be Aaron Lad (29.0), but his stable is out of form (perhaps just a euro, then).
Sticking with the stats about age, and with Mark Walsh riding with great confidence, I fancy Not Many Left (19.5), ‘a hidden horse’ in that he quietly (but impressively) won the Huntingdon qualifier.
FRODON BUT WITH ALL DUE RESPECT
2.50 Cheltenham (Ryanair Chase)
FORTUNE COOKIES: Frodon
ANTE-POST (win 100): 11.5 x 8.6 Frodon
BREEDING: Monalee, Un De Sceaux, Frodon
TRAINER: W Mullins (2). JOCKEY: R Walsh (2)
RATINGS: Frodon, Road To Respect, Un De Sceaux
STATS: Course form essential: 10 out of 12 successful had previously won at Cheltenham; that’s all bar Monalee, Terrefort, Coney Island, Charbel and Sub Lieutenant.
But Monalee, blessed with bags of stamina, has been runner-up in both the Albert Bartlett and the RSA Chase.
Some 10 out of 12 had won over at least 20/21 furlongs; 10/12 had at least four chase wins, one of them in a Graded race.
FORM: Arkle winner Footpad made a stuttering return, followed by another long absence. Gold Cup fourth Road To Respect has stumbled away chases over Christmas (finished upsides Monalee) and in the Irish Gold Cup, but has never fallen.
Un De Sceaux, another Arkle winner, took this back in 2017 but has kept his form well (festival record 1212) and was never going to win a sprint finish with Altior in the Tingle Creek, albeit Altior showed again yesterday that he’s not the horse he was.
It’s a better race than when Balko Des Flos won last year, with the improver Frodon and Road To Respect dropping down from the Gold Cup. I think they are the two.
BETDAQ VALUE: Frodon (8.8 this morning) would be a fabulous winner for the Fortune Cookies. Road To Respect (4.8) demands just that.
PAISLEY PARK LOOKS HERE TO STAY
3.30 Cheltenham (Stayers Hurdle)
FORTUNE COOKIES: Paisley Park
BREEDING: Paisley Park, Black Op, Kilbricken Storm, Top Notch
TRAINER: P Nicholls (4), W. Mullins (2). JOCKEY: R Walsh (5).
RATINGS: Paisley Park, Faugheen, Supasundae.
STATS: Willie Mullins bids for a hat-trick in this launched by comparative outsiders (10-1 and 12-1 winners in the last two years).
The last 12 winners had at least one previous run at Cheltenham, nine of them as winners; 11 out of 12 had won a Graded race.
FORM: Faugheen tries to buck the trends. He would become the first Champion Hurdle winner to take the Stayers, and the first horse aged 11 to land this since 1986.
Ballymore runner-up last year, Black Op was beaten by Paisley Park in the Cleeve Hurdle after switching from fences.
He wins over shorter. So, too, Supasundae, who is a bridesmaid at this trip (222 form figures). Top Notch is yet another two-and-a-half mile horse. West Approach has twice finished runner-up to Paisley park
BETDAQ VALUE: It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that, barring accident, Paisley Park wins this. In-running punters please note that he has traded at between 6.8 and 130.0 when winning his races.
50.0 BIGMARTRE NOT OUT OF PLACE
4.10 Cheltenham (Stable Plate)
BREEDING: Azzerti, Eamon An Cnoic, Polidam, River Wylde
TRAINER: David Pipe 3. JOCKEY: B J Cooper 2, Tom Scudamore 2
RATINGS: handicap
STATS: The favourite won this last year but outsiders usually prevail, with SPs of 12-1, 14-1, 16-1, 18-1, 25-1, 33-1 (twice) and 50-1 in the decade. Avoid horses carrying 11st and more.
FORM: Splash of Ginge was runner-up last year off the same mark in what is always a strong pointer (the last two winners, Road To Respect and The Storyteller, step up to the Ryanair today).
Doitforthevillage and King’s Odyssey both like Cheltenham but the yellow jersey must be worn by David Pipe and Eamon An Cnoic, the horse an impressive scorer after a wind op, the trainer winner three times and placed three times in this race.
BETDAQ VALUE: Harry Whittington reckons Bigmartre (50.0) can outrun his odds. It would be an amazing BETDAQ double, after Gavin Cromwell’s Champion Hurdle with Espoir d’Allen.
David Pipe has a superb record in the race and Eamon An Cnoic (11.5) and Splash Of Ginge (38.0) are also worth your pound or euro.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.30 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 3pts win REAL STEEL
2.10 Cheltenham (win 30)
BET 1.6pts win and place NOT MANY LEFT
BET 1pt win and place AARON LAD
2.50 Cheltenham (win 30)
BET 7.5pts win ROAD TO RESPECT
3.30 Cheltenham (supernap)
BET 20pts win PAISLEY PARK
4.10 Cheltenham (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 4.75pts win EAMON AN CNOIC
BULL’S-EYE BET: 1.4pts win and place SPLASH OF GINGE
BULL’S-EYE BET: 1pts win and place BIGMARTRE
4.50 Cheltenham (win 50 at 13.0)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 4.25pts win and place MY SISTER SARAH
5.30 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 1pt win and place TOUCH KICK
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