4-1 WINNER LUCKY 13 FOR DAQMAN: Daqman went 13-7 up on Pricewise yesterday with a winner (DOYEN QUEST WON 4-1 for Dan Skelton) and 12-1 place putting him a few pounds up on the day and taking his profit over his arch-rival to to a total of 112.50.
CRAVEN TRIAL AT NEWMARKET: Back to the fray at both Newmarket (on Craven Stakes day) and Cheltenham, where Henry De Bromhead could pip Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton is napped for another cleverly placed in a handicap.
NEWMARKET: EARN NECTAR POINTS
📈 TRAINERFORM: Days 1 and 2: Richard Fahey 2, Ed Walker 2; 1 each Charlie Appleby, Andrew Balding, Harry Charlton, Paul and Oliver Cole, Richard Hannon, Richard Hughes, Brian Meehan, Adrian Nicholls, Hugo Palmer, Kevin Ryan.
🔢 DRAW: Results by stall (big-field handicaps): 5f: 1, 11, 9, 14 (14 ran); 5f: 6, 4, 12 (13 ran); 6f: 9, 8, 15 (18 ran); 1m: 4, 8, 1, 7 (13 ran); 1m: 2, 4, 13, 6 (17 ran); 1m: 2, 11, 4 (12 ran).
⭕ 1.50 Newmarket (6f handicap) Stall 2 has won this three times in seven seasons and Jamie Spencer on Irish Nectar could show us just how good he is at divining his path through a big field for a 20-1 hit.
Irish Nectar’s success has come only on autumn soft ground but sire Invincible Spirit was even better on a sound surface (five out of six on firm). Kevin Ryan got off the mark at this Craven meeting yesterday.
⭕ 2.25 Newmarket (1m Wood Ditton Maiden) The 2022 winner, second and third followed up with six wins in their season, while the 2023 winner, second and third landed four. That’s in the old tradition of the Wood Ditton: follow the first three.
The race on the day has gone to top trainers Appleby, Haggas, Gosden (2), Stoute, Varian in the decade, with not always much help from the market. Lead Artist (Frankel out of a Dubawi mare) catches the eye on breeding.
SHOULD HAVE BACKED SEAN LEVEY
⭕ 3.00 Newmarket (6f Abernant Stakes) The grey Garrus had Ryan Moore in the saddle when second in this in 2022 and winner last year, and Charles Hills has booked him again today.
Ed Walker asks William Buick to steer Makarova to a first Group success, back in the grade which saw the mare narrowly beaten at Sandown (5f).
She has raced only in Group 1 and 2 since, fourth in the King George at Goodwood, fourth in the Nunthorpe and not disgraced in the Abbaye. Two good runs here over 6f behind Azure Blue. Betdaq Betting Exchange value 15.0.
Sean Levey rode a double yesterday, one for Richard Hannon, and the combo can get involved in this with Shouldvebeenaring (5.6 offers). Good efforts at the end of last term in Group 1 and has had a run back on AW.
DEWHURST THIRD CAN BOOST TROY
⭕ 3.35 Newmarket (1m Craven Stakes) Charlie Appleby has won this twice in the last three seasons with Master Of The Seas (2021), who would go on to land a famous Woodbine and Breeders Cup double, and Native Trail (2022), who would win the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
Appleby’s Masar took the Craven in 2018 on his way to a surprise Derby win at Epsom, but early favourite, Native Approach, drifted for today’s renewal, hardly worth a rating yet after a class-5 maiden win at Kempton, and is in the shadow of Dance Sequence’s odds-on defeat for the yard in yesterday’s Nell Gwyn.
Whatever happens, Native Approach gives us an early measure of the Irish, with Ryan Moore on Aidan O’Brien’s Cambridge, after disappointment yesterday with Matrika (seventh), another Nell Gwyn flop.
The French, too, can hardly be trusted: Andre Fabre’s Narkez never showed with a real chance, though favourite for the Feilden yesterday.
Alcantor won the Thomas Bryon at Saint-Cloud in the autumn (soft) and returned there on very soft, narrowly beaten in the Criterium International.
Maybe the answer is Eben Shaddad, third in the Dewhurst behind City Of Troy, hooded as if ‘going for broke’ today.
EMOTIVO! GO TO BLAISES Mr MULLINS
⭕ 1.30 Cheltenham Also hooded first-time today is Karia Des Blaises, Willie Mullins’ choice to launch his English-title response to yesterday’s winner for Dan Skelton before the Closutton raid on the Scottish Grand National meeting at Ayr.
But he is joined in the Irish raid by Henry de Bromhead, whose Emotivo pulled clear with a next-time winner at Hereford and looks well handicapped.
⭕ 2.05 Cheltenham (Mares Chase Final) Juniper has improved late in life, impressing with her jumping in back-to-back West Country wins at Taunton and Wincanton. She can now go one better than her second in this final last year.
⭕ 2.40 Cheltenham (Mares Final Handicap Hurdle) I’m in sporting mood for the nap again today, reckoning I’ve spotted a Dan Skelton plot.
The Yeats mare Cottie, a winner for Henry De Bromhead last summer, has slipped 10lb in the handicap ‘acclimatising’ for the future champion trainer (if not this year..)
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.30 Cheltenham (win 12)
BET 2pts win EMOTIVO
1.50 Newmarket (win 20)
BET 1pt win and place IRISH NECTAR
2.05 Cheltenham (win 10)
BET 2.75pts win JUNIPER
2.40 Cheltenham (win 20, nap)
BET 5pts win COTTIE
3.00 Newmarket (win 20)
BET 4.5pts win SHOULDVEBEENARING
BET 1.5pts win MAKAROVA
3.35 Newmarket (win 10)
BET 3pts win EBEN SHADDAD
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