FOUR WINNING NAPS IN A ROW FOR DAQMAN: Daqman opened the York meeting with a one-two in the same race, and goes into the second day 16-11 ahead of Pricewise. Add his fourth consecutive winning nap and he finished yesterday 16.00 up.
WON 6-4 GAASSEE (from 2.9 BETDAQ)
(2nd 9-2 same race FORZA ORTA) (from 7.2 BETDAQ)
WON 13-8 DILIGENT (nap, from 3.3 BETDAQ)
137-POINTS PROFIT FROM SEVEN OUT OF EIGHT: Diligent was Daqman’s seventh winning nap out of the last eight, taking his best-bets profit to 137.50pts.
WON 6-4 DILIGENT (Wednesday, nap,BETDAQ 3.3)
WON 8-11 APPIER (Tuesday, nap)
WON 11-8 FRAGRANCE (Monday, 20-point supernap)
WON 10-11 STONE AGE (Sunday, nap, BETDAQ 2.5)
WON 4-1 SOLID STONE (Friday, nap)
WON 6-4 STAR OF INDIA (Thursday, nap)
WON 11-8 EVER GIVEN (Wednesday nap, BETDAQ 4.0)
DERBY CHALLENGER TODAY: Daqman (and Dettori) rate the Musidora winner on a par with Enable at this stage. Now for the Dante and a Derby prospect or two to rival Stone Age.
EMILY COMES UP LIKE ENABLE
Another Enable? Emily Upjohn gave Frankie Dettori his sixth success in the Musidora Stakes yesterday, going well clear and giving John Gosden his first big three–year–old winner of the season, now Oaks favourite.. ‘she really is in the Enable mold’, says Dettori.
Highfield Princess traveled really well to win the Group-2 sprint and is headed for the Platinum (ex-Diamond) Jubilee at Royal Ascot, where I can just imagine Sir Michael Stoute has a handicap in mind for royal runner, Just Fine, late into the race behind the plot horse Gaassee in yesterday’s opener.
Fortune Cookies: Today is the first appearance of the Flat season of the Daqman Fortune Cookies, which followed Enable from the beginning to 15 victories.
The Cookies are horses to follow, staked 20 points to win, except in trials races and in sprints ( each 10). The full 2022 Flat list was given by Daqman on Monday.
Emily Upjohn, Highfield Princess and Just Fine will be added to the Cookies for Epsom and Royal Ascot. After the Musidora, here’s the colts’ trial:
DANTE: NEW CROWN FOR OLD
⭕ 3.35 York (Dante Stakes) DANTE STATS: The first runner for Daqman’s 2022 Fortune Cookies is Desert Crown for Sir Michael Stoute, who has won this Dante six times, including with Derby–double winner Shahrastani (1986) and with North Light (2004), another of his Epsom Derby winners.
But be warned that his 2010 Epsom hero, Workforce, was only second in the Dante, won by subsequent Irish Derby winner, Cape Blanco.
When Benny The Dip won the Dante for John Gosden, the runner-up was a Green Desert colt of Stoute’s called Desert Story. The dam’s sire of Desert Crown (by Nathaniel) is also Green Desert!
Golden Horn (2015, John Gosden) and Hurricane Lane (2021, Charlie Appleby) were English and Irish Derby winners after taking this trial and both stables are represented today.
FORM: It looks a strong Dante but will have to be if we are to find a challenger to Stone Age, who is also in the Fortune Cookies list, always hopeful that we might land the Irish Derby as well!
Team Gosden saddles the Frankel colt Magisterial, who has won only in lower class, which is why he has nearly a stone in the ratings to make up on Royal Patronage (Appleby) and El Bodegon, both off 112.
El Bodegon beat Stone Age, when they met in the Criterium Saint De Cloud last autumn, and I could really fancy him if the rains came down.
I see Bluegrass as testing the water for Aidan O’Brien and Stone Age but Royal Patronage, twice a winner at York, was beaten only a neck by Coreobus in the Royal Lodge last September, and was running on, six lengths off him, in the 2,000 Guineas.
That highlights the improvement in the Coreobus form and, since he is bred for 1m 4f, brings Patronage into the picture today and potentially at Epsom.
Verdict: A lot of nerves about Desert Crown’s seasonal debut, with his trainer wanting the spotlight off him. He surprised when ‘not expected’ in his maiden. Now I think he could drift here (so I’m taking SP) and the pressure point move on to Royal Patronage, who will surely tighten from 6.5 BETDAQ offers.
MULRENNAN MAGIC ON JAWWAL
⭕ 1.50 York Copper Knight goes for a hat-trick in this 5f sprint, drawn 7 where his previous victories have come out of 11 and then 9.
But, at the age of eight, his rating is 19lb higher than when he scored last year and close to his July 2019 strike at York off 106 when a small-field Listed was the preferred race because he was so high in the handicap.
Daqman was on Raasel at Goodwood in April, which was win number six since September, his only defeat his first run back after the break.
After rising a stone and a half, he was spanked 7lb for Goodwood so his winning streak now shows an overall rise of two stone.
Nigel Tinkler is banking on the change of stables (from Charles Hills) and booking of Silvestre De Sousa to get him in the money with well-drawn Mejthaam.
In the next-door stall Jawwaal is 13lb better off with Copper Knight for a length-and-a-quarter beating here in August, when Paul Mulrennan was in the saddle for the first time in 30 months. He’s there again today.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE 13.5 Jawwaal
CRUYFF’S TURN TO HIT TARGET
⭕ 3.00 York What’s the story in this mile handicap? Well, it’s a bias to low numbers until What’s The Story (2019) and then Kynren (2021) came along from high stalls and showed how it could be overcome.
What’s The Story is back for more, 6lb lower than his winning mark but eight years old now. I can find only one winner of that age (Quito 2005) in the history of the race.
Isla Kai, an improver last year at three, ran an excellent fourth in the Newbury Spring Cup, and Brunch, beaten only a neck by Kynren last year, drops from a Group 3 the last day. He finds it so difficult to time his run but Jason Hart helps.
Cruyff Turn – in the one stall – is a game CD winner who should be fit as a flea from two recent runs. La Trinidad, who can win when fresh, is an old hand at big-field handicaps but was well behind Cruyff Turn here in August. BETDAQ 14.0
⭕ 5.20 York Ahorsewithnoname is the nap of the day, with Ryan Moore booked by Nicky Henderson for a mare who could finish runner-up to Love Envoi in the Dawn Run at Cheltenham then take a class-2 Flat race at Newbury two furlongs further than today. BETDAQ 2.5
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.50 York (win 50)
BET 4pts win JAWWAAL
3.00 York (win 50, win 10)
BET 3.5pts win CRUYFF TURN
BET 2pts win ISLA KAI
3.35 York
FORTUNE COOKIE (SP)
BET 10pts win DESERT CROWN
BET 4pts to win 20 ROYAL PATRONAGE
5.20 York (win 15, nap)
BET 10pts win AHORSEWITHNONAME
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
