VROUM! DAQMAN BANKERS DOUBLE: Daqman landed back-to-back bankers with his only Fortune Cookie of the day yesterday, Vroum Vroum Mag (WON 8-15), which takes him 8-3 clear of Pricewise of the Racing Post in their tipping challenge. The gap between them is 24 points at SP.
WON 8-11 Special Tiara (Tuesday)
WON 8-15 Vroum Vroum Mag (Wednesday)
ANOTHER ONE AT LEOPARDSTOWN TODAY: Daqman waxes lyrical in the novice chase at Leopardstown. He has another banker there but also a 7.6 bet and a 14.0 win-and-place chance at Doncaster.
HEADING TOWARDS CONEY ISLAND..
1.55 Leopardstown This Grade-1 novice chase always throws up a top-class animal, not the least of them Don Poli (2014), who was back to big-time form when runner-up in the Lexus yesterday.
This year’s race has six horses rated between 141 and 147 but clear of the field is Coney Island on 152, only half-a-length off Boxing Day winner Bellshill at the Punchestown Festival in the Spring.
He is entitled to beat Martello Tower on a line through Anibale Fly, his runner-up (Alpha Des Obeaux third) in the Drinmore earlier this month.
The one negative which reduces Coney Island from banker status in this is his stable’s form.
Five of Edward Harty’s six runners in the last two weeks have been beaten a total of 236 lengths (the other one pulled up), all bar one at SP odds between 33-1 and 66-1.
Coney Island seems to be a standout in the yard and Barry Geraghty, who chose Anibale Fly in the Drinmore (a race won by Don Cossack in 2013) is back in the plate today.
I wouldn’t read too much into Anibale Fly’s flop at Kempton yesterday; he was never at the races under Geraghty again.
His owner, J P McManus, now has Coney Island here, shortest price this morning of his 15 runners today, spread over Leopardstown, Limerick and Doncaster. On and on, and the craic is good.
GRAND CANYON CAN LAND RYANAIR
2.30 Leopardstown (Ryanair Hurdle) This has been won in the decade by Champion Hurdle heros, Brave Inca, Hurricane Fly and Sublimity, and by World Hurdle star Solwhit, with six out of seven favourites obliging.
Nichols Canyon came out of the shadows of the Willie Mullins’ stables Faugheen and Annie Power to slam one of today’s rivals, Jers Girl, 12 lengths for a repeat win in the Morgiana at Punchestown last month.
He’d actually beaten Faugheen in that race in 2015 when Faugheen was short of his best, and the same could be said of Jer’s Girl, who was making her seasonal reppearance at Punchestown.
But 12 lengths is a mighty stretch to claw back, and the gap between them in the ratings is now 16lb. Ivanovich Gorbatov, 17-lengths third in the Morgiana, had Footpad behind at Cheltenham last March
So it is that, on form, the grey Petit Mouchoir may pose the biggest threat to the favourite, an unlucky faller three out in the Fighting Fifth, when Apple’s Jade was beaten a nose before winning a second photo-finish, with Vroum Vroum Mag, in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse. But has the Newcastle fall left its mark? Bryan Cooper won’t want a repeat.
3.05 Leopardstown This handicap is a much lower level than in the last two years. That usually means looking to the top weights for quality.
Stretchingthetruth won a Point, a bumper and a novice hurdle consecutively but eased in the market and flopped badly, trying a Graded event in November.
First To Boogie swerved a novice programme over hurdles and actually broke his maiden in an open handicap, third of three good runs at Punchestown in the autumn. You’d hate to see an eight-year-old beat the youngsters here but he might be good enough in the circumstances.
I’ll take a chance on further improvement from Bilko, a 7.6 offer on BETDAQ this morning. As the master-sergeant said: I’ll be happy with an honest week’s pay for an honest day’s work.
SHE’S BELLE OF ALL ON TOWN MOOR
2.05 Doncaster Henry Daly’s form figures in the last week are 11101 still standing and it will be hard to stop Briery Belle (one of the J P McManus 15 today) from making it 111 over fences on her own account this autumn-winter.
She beat Desert Queen (holds Kalane) six lengths at Warwick, which completed a hat-trick for the King’s Theatre mare if you go back to a Listed hurdle at the end of last season.
Viky Du Reponet has won four out of six in France, including two chases, but is stepped up in trip here on the debut for Ditcheat.
The Organist (a 14.0 chance on BETDAQ as I write) jumped deliberately behind Briery Belle on the soft at Warwick but beat her over hurdles and is a grand-daughter of Bob Back (Bob’s Worth, Burton Port, Roberto Goldback).
2.40 Doncaster Abricot de l’Oasis and Ten Sixty are inseparable again on the form of their photo-finish at Leicester but that was 2m 4f, and it’s a question of which one stays the extra half-mile. The worry for Abricot backers is that he is far too easy to back at 10.0, as I write.
The form of Ami Desbois’ last-day second has been franked by the winner but he has to give weight all round today. Parish Business is back in his class but Richard Johnson (11 out of 12 in the first four) is riding out of his skin just now and Ten Sixty is 10:4.
DAQMAN BETS (each bet staked to win 20 points, except where stated).
BET 8.8pts win CONEY ISLAND (1.55 Leopardstown)
BET 12pts win BRIERY BELLE, and 1.5pts win and place THE ORGANIST (2.05 Doncaster)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) NICHOLS CANYON (2.30 Leopardstown)
BET 6pts win TEN SIXTY (2.40 Doncaster)
BET (to win 30) 4.75pts win and place BILKO (3.05 Leopardstown)
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
