DAQMAN’S 17.0 PARTY AFTER NAPS HAT-TRICK: Daqman landed a 17.0 BETDAQ outsider, Unexpected Party (SP 12-1), in the Grand Annual at Cheltenham yesterday, and completed a naps hat-trick with a second winning festival supernap. He has named three Improvers in the two days, two winners and a win-and-place second.
🏆 CHALLENGE UPDATE: Daqman 33, Pricewise 12 (+440.66/-370.83)
Day 2 Cheltenham
WON 12-1 UNEXPECTED PARTY (win 50 at BETDAQ 17.0)
WON 8-13 FACT TO FILE (supernap and multiples)
📉 LAYS LOGIC: SA MAJESTE 16th; LIBBERTY HUNTER 2nd
Day 1 Cheltenham
WON 8-13 LOSSIEMOUTH (supernap and multiples)
WON 2-5 STATE MAN (double up with Lossiemouth
WON (2nd 9-2) IRISH POINT (w/p 8.1 on BETDAQ)
WON 2-1 GAELIC WARRIOR (saver)
Monday
WON 1-1 DOYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN (nap)
📊 CHELTENHAM STATS: Don’t forget to check out Daqman’s day by day, race by race stats pointers to Cheltenham (click below)
YEATS THE UNDERRATED STAR
⭕ 3.30 Cheltenham (Stayers Hurdle) STATS (see separate section of Daqman’s Stats for every race – link above):
LAYS LOGIC: Seven of the last nine favourites for this have been beaten and Teahupoo looks vulnerable, with Gordon Elliottt’s team out of form. It’s a heck of a contest with just a few pounds separating some great names.
162 TEAHUPOO (Gordon Elliott) This is a race Elliott won last year with a 33-1 shot; his 2022 Hattons Grace winner, Teahupoo, was a close third.
Teahupoo, who loves soft ground, won the Hattons Grace again the last day but the Elliott team’s form at the festival so far ranks alongside that of the bug-ridden Nicky Henderson yard.
On Day 1, the returns from Elliott runners were: 32PP0P2B3P; missing strike or pulling up! Day 2 yesterday produced the same scenario: 00PP4230.
159 SIRE DU BERLAIS (Gordon Elliott) This is the stable’s 33-1 winner last year, a big shock for the stats at age 11, and now of course 12 and trying to do the Flooring Porter double of 2021-22.
Just the one race since last Spring and usually needs more than that to put him right.
👀 IMPROVER place bet 👀
157 CRAMBO (Fergal O’Brien) Raised 34lb since emerging from the novice ranks a year or so back, when he won on heavy at Sandown, taking the Long Walk by a short-head from Paisley Park the last day, with Dashel Drasher third.
Trainer in form with 2-2 at Huntingdon yesterday. Snag: has never raced at Cheltenham, which has been an essential for this. Still, a bit e.w. at 9.6, as an improver.
157 PAISLEY PARK (Emma Lavelle) Another light of yesteryear, won this in 2019 but he defied the years to be short-headed in the Long Walk and just a head defeat to Noble Yeats in the Cleeve Hurdle here in January.
156 DASHEL DRASHER (Jeremy Scott) Incredible servant, placed 14 times (seven wins) over hurdles, out of the frame just three times in 31 starts when completing the course. Beat Paisley Park in December but behind Crambo then Noble Yeats in last two starts.
156 FLOORING PORTER (Gavin Cromwell) Won this in 2022 but a four-horse novice chase his only success since and fourth in this last year. Stable out of form at Cheltenham so far this week.
155 HOME BY THE LEE (Joseph O’Brien) Won the Lismullen and the Christmas Hurdle back to back in 2022 but poor form since, though fifth in this last year (made a blunder).
155 SIR GERHARD (Willie Mullins) Two festival wins – in the Bumper and the Ballymore – but lean spell followed until heavy-ground winner at Punchestown at the turn of the year. No success over 3m (0P) but they were chases.
152 NOBLE YEATS (Emmet Mullins) Has never had the credit he deserves, as a Grand National winner who could take a Cleeve Hurdle as a warm-up to the year the last day.
The cheekpieces he wore when National winner in 2022 then Gold Cup and National fourth last year are back on today.
VERDICT: Daqman bet to win 100 Noble Yeats ante-post at BETDAQ 11.0. Offers of 7.7 this morning.
IT’S A GREY DAY FOR DESTINY
👀 IMPROVER nap 👀
⭕ 1.30 Cheltenham (Turners Novices’ Chase) Paul Nicholls (Ginnys Destiny), who won this last year with Stage Star, was jolted on the first two days by Liari pulling up and Stay Away Fay also failing to complete. Returns PP00 (the other losers were beaten 23 length and 43 lengths)
Ginnys Destiny beat Grey Dawning here in December but was getting weight and was lucky when the Dan Skelton grey made a mistake two out.
Grey Dawning romped clear of Apple Away and Broadway Boy at Warwick in January and I had him in the last list of Fortune Cookies.
Facile Vega has won the Champion Bumper here and been placed in the Supreme. Willie Mullins, who hasn’t landed this since a 2015-17 treble, puts him up in trip on his fourth start over fences.
POPOVA EASY RIDE FOR RACHAEL
⭕ 2.10 Cheltenham (Pertemps Hurdle Final) Nine-year-olds don’t win it, so we seem to be straight back to the days when six-year-olds scored four out of seven (2015 to 2021).
I found three recent winners came to take this Final and its £56k prize from the Leopardstown qualifier at Christmas.
The winner that day in December was Gaoth Chuil. He’ll need the eponymous tail wind if he is to hold Farouk d’Alene, who got within a neck of him that day.
But Farouk is nine now against the six-year-olds and surely not better than his stablemate Cleatus Poolaw, beaten over shorter the last day but with as much stamina as Noble Yeats!
Cuthbert Dibble has progressed well for this but the punt of the race could be Popova, who stayed out of the back for much of the Punchestown qualifier in November.
The mare’s trainer, Henry De Bromhead, and jockey, Rachael Blackmore, have already scored here this week with Slade Steel and Captain Guinness.
Rachael rides with 10st 6lb in this handicap, a blessing after the level-weights Graded races with ‘tons of lead’ in the saddle, though she still managed to score off 11st 10lb again yesterday.
Le Milos, better known as a chaser but well in here, gets a thumbs up from Dan Skelton, whose team have two winners at the festival this week. An overnight gamble.
Betdaq Betting Exchange 7.9 Le Milos, 8.8 Cleatus Poolaw, 18 Popova
ALLEN RYANAIR KEY AGAIN..
⭕ 2.50 Cheltenham (Ryanair Chase) Envoi Allen beat Shishkin in this last season but – shades of his kinky ways this year – Shishkin was his own worst enemy, jumping left and having to be cajoled.
Henry De Bromhead, with two winner son the board already, is confident that Envoi Allen is in last year’s form.
Banbridge has won twice at Cheltenham, including the Martin Pipe on good to soft, but the ground may not have dried out sufficiently for him.
Stage Star (Paul Nicholls) won the Autumn Gold Cup on the old course here but was never traveling on today’s New course when having to be pulled up on New Year’s Day.
This trip is short for both Capodanno and Protektorat. Of the pair, Capodanno is the progressive one; Protektorat will be ridden positively and drops down in class from gold standard.
Ga Law, fifth last year, has improved this season; Fugitif has trainer Richard Hobson declaring: ‘I’m not afraid of the Irish!’ Perhaps, he doesn’t read the results page.
BETDAQ value 3.7 Envoi Allen, 12 Capodanno, 32 Ga Law
GET YOUR TICKET FOR THEATRE
⭕ 4.10 Cheltenham (Plate) Cheltenham specialist Il Ridoto must be Nicholls best chance. He has had eight goes here on both tracks, placed four times for just one win.
Most of those have been in higher grade. He has his ground and Freddie Gingell is worth every ounce of his claim.
Ginny’s Destiny in the Turners could boost Theatre Man, who took so well to Cheltenham the last day. Harry Cobden booked.
The ‘Arry’ in Shakem Up’Arry, third last year, is part-owner Harry Redknapp but all eyes will be on jockey find of the season, Ben Jones, and the burgeoning Ben Pauling stable.
BETDAQ value 5.1 Theatre Man, 19.0 Il Ridoto
JADE ANOTHER GEM FOR MULLINS
⭕ 4.50 Cheltenham (Mares’ Novices Hurdle) This is a Willie Mullins race (5 winners in a row 2016-20) and Jade De Grugy at 3.3 this morning has the trainer-on-form advantage over Brighterdaysahead (Elliott).
LAYS LOGIC: Willie Mullins won with three straight favourites, but the last five market leaders have crashed:
Epatante (2019) 9th 15-8, Minella Melody (2020) 18th 11-4; Royal Kahala (2021) 9th 9-2; Dinoblue 11-8 9th (2022) and Luccia (2023) 4th 6-4.
So I shall be opposing Brighterdaysahead, particularly in a race with 11 on the card having won a total of 30 races
DE BROMHEAD’S CLAN IN FORM
⭕ 5.30 Cheltenham, (Kim Muir Challenge Cup) LAYS LOGIC: Only one has won in the last 11 years, and we have another stable top of the market despite a poor beginning to Cheltenham: Gavin Cromwell (0PF3) with 5-2 favourite Inothewayurthinkin.
Angels Dawn (BETDAQ 11.5) won last year and she ran a career best in the Thyestes, so the higher mark may not stop her.
Lightly-raced Whacker Clan is another live chance for Henry de Bromhead at BETDAQ 12.0.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.30 Cheltenham (win 20, nap)
BET 7.5pts win GREY DAWNING
2.10 Cheltenham (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 7pts win LE MILOS
BET 6.5pts win CLEATUS POOLAW
BET 3pts win and place POPOVA
2.50 Cheltenham (win 30)
BET 11pts win ENVOI ALLEN
BET 2.75pts win CAPODANNO
BET 1pt win and place Ga LAW
3.30 Cheltenham (ante-post)
BET 10pts to win 100 NOBLE YEATS
BET 5pts place (saver)
BET 2.25pts win 20 and place CRAMBO
4.10 Cheltenham (win 30, win 20)
BET 1.75pts win and place IL RIDOTO
BET 5pts win THEATRE MAN
4.50 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 8pts win JADE DE GRUGY
5.30 Cheltenham (win 20)
BET 2pts win ANGELS DAWN
BET 1.75pts win WHACKER CLAN
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.
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