DAQMAN GOES FOR BACK-TO-BACK NAPS AT EPSOM TONIGHT: Yesyes yes! Daqman landed his nap yesterday, a third consecutive success in his winner-a-day sequence.
WON 4-6 YESYES (nap, Wednesday)
WON 6-4 THOMAS LANFIERE (Tuesday)
WON 5-4 KAYFAST WARRIOR (Monday)
* Today’s Daqman nap runs at Epsom, where he rates a ‘hidden horse’ worthy of a win-50 bull’s-eye bet.
MOORE BACK FROM BELMONT WITH TOUGH TASK ON JAPAN: First day back after his Belmont Classic double, Ryan Moore has a tough task tonight, trying to win at Leopardstown with Japan when the three-year-olds have a big allowance in hand. But the job was made easier when the improver among them, Visualisation, dropped out because of the drying ground.
NO HOLDING HURRICANE IN THE MUD
Hurricane, or did the others blow out? Hurricane Lane won last night’s Grand Prix De Paris by a reduced distance over Wordsworth (third), in comparison with the Irish Derby at The Curragh 15 days earlier.
It was ‘good’ in Ireland and ‘very soft’ at Longchamp, and Alenquer, third last night, didn’t play much part.
Though he had won the King Edward V11 Stakes at Royal Ascot on ‘heavy’, Alenquer was held up in rear again but this time didn’t even go third until the final strides.
The way the season has progressed makes British Champions day and the Arc de Triomphe the deciders, with Hurricane Lane’s Charlie Appleby stable now seemingly set to dominate with Derby winner Adayar, who had beaten Hurricane Lane more than eight lengths at Epsom.
First Adayar must see off the best fillies of this (Snowfall) and the last Classic generation (Love) in the King George. Look out for Daqman’s ABC guide and ratings before the big day
RYAN ‘SIMPLY SCHOOLED U.S ACES’
The champagne should flow at Leopardstown tonight. Ryan Moore has his first rides back – including one called Jeroboam – since his phenomenal double of Belmont Derby and Oaks at the weekend.
It all seems to have been received in England and Ireland without the accolades it deserves and without awareness of the turning point in world racing and its power core that those results represent.
Believe me, the dust has not settled in the States, nor will it, as the Americans calculate not just the sting of Aidan O’Brien’s $900,000 take but the future of it’s many huge-stakes Derbys across their country.
Explains my US correspondent, Stacy Stark: ‘Lasix is banned in all graded stakes and all two-year-old races in most States here now. It’s an open door to the European raiding parties.
‘No wonder the O’Brien camp is thinking of coming back here next month for the Saratoga Derbys.
‘Incidentally, our handicapper thought that Santa Barbara’s Oaks was better than Bolshoi Ballet’s Derby.’
As for Ryan Moore, she said: ‘He has iced water in his veins. He absolutely schooled our riders on their big day at Belmont!’
⭕ 4.30 Leopardstown Moore has a huge task on seven-race maiden Jeroboam, who has to make up three and a half lengths on his Fairyhouse conqueror, Dixie Bluebell but the step up to nine furlongs could make the difference.
⭕ 5.30 Leopardstown Moore’s ride, Madonnadelrosario (BETDAQ 3.0), has the edge here of already having raced, her form boosted while she’s been in her box.
Madonnadelrosario enjoyed her education when fifth in a maiden here last month, from which the third filly home has since won comfortably at Gowran Park.
MOORE MAGIC NEEDED IN THE MELD
⭕ 6.00 Leopardstown (Meld Stakes) With Visualisation a non-runner, a less-than-solid field for this Group 3 still poses the question: can Japan drop back to nine furlongs and recover his form?
It’s nearly two years since Moore rode him hard to win the York International, also on good ground, but horse and rider were not disgraced, third, last July over a similar trip in the Eclipse (1m 2f firm).
You can forgive Japan his last defeat in the Hardwicke Stakes (it was soft at Ascot that particular day) and his previous failures were in seven successive Group-1 events (he took a Group 3 as consolation this Spring).
Testing Japan will be Leo De Fury: after being gelded, he could recover his Group-2 winning form of last summer.
Maker Of Kings has to show that the blinkers which helped him win a one-mile Group 3 here in May can do the trick again. He’s certainly improved after gelding (by 9lb, says the handicapper).
KNOWING VALUE FOR A BULL’S EYE
⭕ 6.45 Epsom A huge Andrew Balding punt last night eased odds-on Aswan, and I jumped on the 3.45 Captain Square in the BETDAQ orange this morning.
Captain Square appears to be yet another second-time-out Balding two-year-old nailed on for victory for his juvenile team, led by the superlative Sandrine.
⭕ 7.50 Epsom Drying ground makes Knowing a good bet from this point. Unlucky twice last summer (hampered and/or no room to challenge) in better races than this, and unable to cope with a soft surface since.
Knowing has already scored over the Epsom CD and James Fanshawe has used Hayley Turner 14 times for winners.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE VALUE 9.5 Knowing
DAQMAN’S BETS
5.30 Leopardstown (win 10)
BET 5pts win MADONNADELROSARIO
6.00 Leopardstown (win 10)
BET 6pts win JAPAN
6.45 Epsom (win 20, nap)
BET 8pts win CAPTAIN SQUARE
7.50 Epsom (win 50 bull’s-eye bet)
BET 5.75pts win KNOWING
