8-1 DAQMAN LEAD OVER PRICEWISE IN THE RACING THEATRE: High drama at Huntingdon today as Riverside Theatre returns to action against an always-hot-first-time Captain Chris and the upwardly mobile Module. Daqman challenges Pricewise again, 8-1 up in the last three weeks. He has a banker-stakes nap at Newcastle.
1.30 Huntingdon As you’d expect in a fast-run 2m hurdle, younger horses prevail. There has been no winner of this older than six.
Chat Room won first time last season and it may have been the heavy ground that stopped him at Sandown a month ago but they weren’t queuing up to back him on BETDAQ this morning.
Fergall jumped round Newton Abbot as if he would enjoy today’s right-handed track. Karazhan is 7.6 as I write, a bit big for a Nicky Henderson hat-trick winner, albeit giving weight all round. Keltus (Paul Nicholls) was also easy to back at 6.8.
Watch the market but, over my cornflakes, the other Henderson, Springinherstep was shorter, and the McCoy mount, Prompter, was shorter still.
DAQMAN’S VERDICT: With Prompter very hard to win with (1-23 on the Flat), I shall split my stakes on the Henderson pair.
2.00 Huntingdon (Peterborough Chase) Only two winners in the decade have carried maximum penalties, which makes life difficult for Captain Chris, trying to follow up the same stable’s victory last year with Menorah.
Captain Chris, whose form after a break, still standing, is 2212, remains in the King George, while Champion Court swerves Saturday’s December Gold Cup for this.
Champion Court has had a run back but is a Cheltenham specialist, wrong at the weights with both Captain Chris and Riverside Theatre, who is 110104 after a break and who has exemplary form right-handed, winning seven and placed twice out of 12.
Captain Chris, with five wins and three places clockwise, also from 12 starts, hasn’t won a ‘proper’ race since the Arkle in 2011, though second and third in the King George since.
His only successes have been in races of four and five runners, and he was six lengths off Riverside Theatre in the Ryanair at Cheltenham in 2012.
Riverside Theatre was poor last season, out of the three in King George, Ryanair and Punchestown Gold Cup, and it would seem a training miracle by ‘Merlin’ Henderson is needed if he is to be good enough to win this first time back for a yard which has just lost Binocular from the front line in similar circumstances. But there are mitigating circumstances.
Conquisto got the McCoy treatment at Aintree in October but, though a Grade 2, that race was a handicap. He didn’t like Cheltenham last time (well behind Champion Court) and may do better here but is hardly a bet at the weights.
The improver is Jewson fourth Module, 18lb higher than at this time last season. He had an unlucky run when he divided Somersby and Cue Card, albeit off a low mark and on their reappearance runs.
DAQMAN’S VERDICT: Though the BETDAQ total percentage in the orange offers is a welcoming 103% as I write, Captain Chris, Module and Riverside Theatre are all three within a decimal point of 4.2.
It’s a conundrum: Captain Chris gives 8lb and 10lb to the pair, with Riverside Theatre (long time no win) working well after a breathing op and Module (no longer favoured in a handicap) poised to step into the big time.
There have been only five first-time-out winners of this in 30 years, but Riverside Theatre will have been ‘got up’ for it. Henderson knows the horse might not win anything at level weights in the big time but he catches Captain Chris with 10lb in hand here and Module on the way up, yet to prove himself at today’s trip and with his best form on heavy.
Riverside Theatre, who gets his good ground today, was faced with soft-heavy in his defeats in the last year or so, and had been suffering from ulcers when beaten in his Ryanair double bid. They’ve obviously paid big vets bills to get him right again.
NAP: John Quinn uses the opener at Newcastle to launch his better hurdles and Racing Pulse (1.20) looks like another potential star. He’s a banker for me after the good reports I’ve had.
OUTSIDER OF THE DAY: Andrea Atzena is 2-3 when booked by Amanda Perrett, who has secured him for a disguised horse, the grey Moonday Sun (6.20), a pattern performer in France having his first run for the yard: 28.0 on BETDAQ, as I write.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BANKER: BET 20pts win (nap) RACING PULSE (12.20 Newcastle)
BET 4pts win SPRINGINHERSTEP and 3pts win KARAZHAN (1.30 Huntingdon)
BET 6.4pts win RIVERSIDE THEATRE (2.00 Huntingdon)
BET 0.7pts win and place MOONDAY SUN (6.20 Kempton)
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