14-1 DAQMAN CELEBRATES WITH TWO-TON TONY: Daqman made it six winning days out of nine since the start of Cheltenham with Kudu Country (WON 14-1) yesterday for 15 points profit on the day that Tony McCoy reached his 200.
BETDAQ IS YOUR MARKET PLACE ALL DAY: While the bookies run scared of another betting coup on AW, with only starting prices available on some races at Lingfield and Kempton yesterday, BETDAQ offers a continuing market right through to the wire.
SATURDAY’S SPRING CUP COULD HOLD KEY TO THE COLTS’ FIRST CLASSIC
Saturday’s Spring Cup could become a Guineas trial. One of the 17 left in the Lingfield Listed is Ertijaal, a key figure in collateral form for the 2,000 Guineas, the colt’s first Classic at Newmarket in May.
Paul Hanagan has a full list of rides in Dubai tomorrow for his boss, Sheikh Hamdan, but could fly home in time to take his first ride of 2014 in England on the son of Oasis Dream.
After Ertijaal broke his maiden in June, he suffered a setback and had to miss a range of big two-year-old tests (any one of Prix Morny, Champagne Stakes and Gimcrack entries).
He would have been a rank outsider for these, and a nobody among the Guineas possibles, but the colt that beat him narrowly on his debut, Toormore, would go on to lift Ertijaal’s name above the ordinary.
While Ertijaal stayed in his box, Toormore, trained by Richard Hannon, won first the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood then one of the very top juvenile heats, the prestigious National Stakes at The Curragh, and is as low as 6-1 in a place for Newmarket with a BHA rating of 122.
Willie Haggas is keen to get more racecourse experience into Ertijaal who, off only 98, with just that maiden to his name, would not carry Group or Listed penalties into Saturday’s Spring Cup.
He would meet mainly class-3 horses from the autumn-winter AW scene, the equivalent of a Premier League outfit playing MK Dons on a level playing field.
WALKING LEGEND: JOHNNY MURTAGH THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME JOCKEY
Flat and jumps, the Irish are first again! With a dozen Cheltenham pots not yet needing their first polish, Ireland is straight out of the turf-season gate at The Curragh on Sunday.
Feature race of the day, the Irish Lincolnshire will predate and pre-empt the English version at Doncaster by six days.
Saddling one of the favourites, We’ll Go Walking, will be Johnny Murtagh, on his first big day since he quit the saddle to concentrate on training.
But his three-year-old Sea The Stars filly, Calorie, will – win or lose – get the biggest cheer of the day when Murtagh saddles her for the previous race, the Johnny Murtagh Lifetime Achievement In Racing Handicap.
The rider of all-time greats like Sinndar, Dylan Thomas, High Chapparal and Yeats, Johnny won four Irish and three English Derbys, half a dozen Guineas, five Ascot Gold Cups and four King Georges. To name but a few, as they say.
It has been my great good luck to see Johnny Murtagh, Mick Kinane and Lester Piggott in one lifetime of great racing. I would call them, in order, Mr Impeccable, Mr Cool.. and mister, did you see Piggott win that race!
TODAY’S RACING: MAKADAMIA CAN BEAT THE OTHERS BUT MUST ALSO BEAT THE RAIN
Just when you thought you heard their hooves rattle. Rain returns today and every sensible punters list of quality waited-with good-ground horses has to go on hold again.
But is the ‘90% chance of precipitation’ at Chepstow to be realised before the first race or afterwards? ‘Later in the day’ say the weathermen, so I hope the ground remains on top for the David Pipe mare, Makadamia (2.00), whose form in the mud can be ignored.
Her sire gets quality sound-surface horses.. and how? Ten jumpers and 17 Flat progeny have earned six-figure sums and more in prizemoney. Makadamia is regarded by connections as a cut above this field.
Otherwise, I’d rather go to Ludlow, where we know it’s softish already and where there are two class-3 quality races with eight runners. Tony McCoy’s mount, Strongly Suggested (3.30), wanting a sound surface and without his tongue-tie, has drifted like a lonely dog on a raft this morning, out to 12.5 as I write.
Lord Navits needs the rain to come in quantity, as he tries to pag a punishing 11lb rise on top of the 7lb he got for completing a double. Come On Annie’s bubble has already burst. Ted Dolly, the old man of the party, doesn’t appeal.
So it is that I arrived at Bullet Street, whose rating has been consistent, despite sound efforts on good ground. He’s a bit quirky but his Irish form says the more rain the better, and he has a 50% place-strike rate going right-handed.
Sonofagun (4.40) is another up in the weights so, like Oyster Shell and Zarzal, he is claimed off. You have to decide, does a claimer tip the scales in this race or is it a sign of panic?
With two of these three, it’s a case of trying to nullify their penalties; with the other – Zarzal – it’s about trying to conjure up something extra, down a total of 10lb on one-paced efforts. Not for me.
Last Shot has won round here, and Venetia Williams does well on the course, but he is also high in the handicap. I’m thinking the winner is likely to come from the three dropped in grade.
Parsnip Pete is down from a sequence of decent efforts in class 2, but ‘follow the losers at Cheltenham’ is a profitable motto at this time of year.
Highway Code (in the Byrne Group Plate) and Changing The Guard (in the Grand Annual) never really got involved in their respective festival heats.
Changing The Guard has winning form only on top of the ground and gives weight away to all in this, but Highway Code went nine consecutive races in the frame before Cheltenham and Josh Moore was aboard when he won impressively over further at Newbury. The days live outsider at 10.0 on BETDAQ this morning.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 4pts win (nap) MAKADAMIA (2.00 Chepstow)
BET 6pts win BULLET STREET and 4pts win (stakes saver) LORD NAVITS (3.30 Ludlow)
BET 2pts win and place (Outsider Of The Day) HIGHWAY CODE (4.40 Ludlow)
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