SOUNDS LIKE ANOTHER BIG DAY: Hot-shots and long-shots. All come the same to Daqman. He was buying money at Roscommon yesterday, with eight points on Zorion (WON 4-7 from 1.81 on BETDAQ) and the maximum 10 on Sweet Sounds (WON 9-10), but went close with a rank outsider at Windsor last night (Pretty Bubbles 2nd 16-1).
FOUR BANKERS WIN OUT OF SIX: In fact, Sweet Sounds was Daqman’s fourth winning banker out of the last six, all at backable prices, for a profit of 55 points to 20-point stakes. They were:
WON 4-5 Walpole
WON 7-4 Adool
WON 5-6 Alyssa
WON 9-10 Sweet Sounds
TODAY: Daqman completes his York preview, updates his Fortune Cookies ready for battle on the Knavesmire, and finds a Fantasy nap in the big race at Ripon. TOMORROW: Look out at York for big bets at the Ebor meeting.
FORTUNE COOKIES UPDATE FOR YORK
Look out for the York young bloods! Three-year-olds have won seven Group-1s out of 10 this season and three more are up for grabs this week.
This is the current X-Factor, and this week the International Stakes, Yorkshire Oaks and Nunthorpe, all at York, are all crunch contests between the generations.
The current scores for three-year-olds in the decade are: Yorkshire Oaks 6 from 10; International 4 from 10; Nunthorpe only 2 from 10. But it’s been a big year for the Classic generation so far.
And don’t forget the handicaps; three-year-olds were at one time three from four in the Logistics Handicap on Thursday (2006-10), and could bounce back via Banksea (Cumani) or Mustashry (Stoute).
It is a similar story but even stronger with the Ebor Handicap. There were no fewer than 11 three-year-old winners in 20 years up to the turn of the century but none since 2001
Who thinks it’s time for them to bounce back? Aidan O’Brien, with four left in, weighted from 7st 10lb to 8st 9lb., which suggests that, after the knockouts, he is sure to get a place near the foot of the handicap.
O’Brien runs Found in the Yorkshire Oaks, representing our Fortune Cookies. Left in the Nunthorpe are Cotai Glory, Easton Angel and Profitable.
Exosphere looks like being our International runner for Sir Michael Stoute. If all else fails, we will want to be on US Army Ranger at The Curragh on Sunday. O’Brien again.
-–30 Awtaad (Kevin Prendergast) Irish Champion Stakes or Boomerang Stakes, The Curragh, September 10; British Champions Mile or Middle Distance, Ascot, October 15.
2200 Cotai Glory (Charles Hills) Nunthorpe Stakes, York, Friday; Haydock Sprint Cup, September 3
—–1 Dannyday (Sir Michael Stoute), British Champions Long Distance Cup, October 15
—–3 Dartmouth (Sir Michael Stoute), Irish St Leger, The Curragh September 11
-–24 Easton Angel (Michael Dods), Nunthorpe Stakes, York, Friday
-–03 Exosphere (Sir Michael Stoute), International, York, tomorrow
-222 Found (Aidan O’Brien), Yorkshire Oaks, tomorrow
2111 Minding (Aidan O’Brien), likely to wait for British Champions Day (three entries), Ascot, October 15
—-1 So Mi Dar (John Gosden), British Champions Fillies’ And Mares’, Ascot, October 15
-114 Profitable (Clive Cox), Nunthorpe Stakes, York, Friday
––2 US Army Ranger (Aidan O’Brien), Royal Whip Stakes, The Curragh, Sunday
-–10 Usherette (Andre Fabre) Sun Chariot Stakes, Newmarket, October
FOLLOW YOUR FANTASY FOR RIPON GOLD
4.00 Ripon (City of Ripon Stakes) Follow an improving filly at this time of year, and it’s not Pure Fantasy to suppose that the eponymous royal runner can continue her 11lb climb, now brought back to the trip and ground which suited at Nottingham in June.
Cote d’Azur has twice carried penalties to success and has steadily soared 32lb in a year’s solid work, winner or placed seven times out of nine, including a hat-trick completed at York recently.
But the sequence was built, and seemingly abandoned, by Sir Mark Prescott and that raises the possibility that the colt has had enough. A change of stables is hardly likely to bring improvement in this particular case.
5.00 Ripon We’re going clockwise here, and it may be relevant that La Fritillaire (James Given) and Slipper Satin (Simon West) have both failed to place on a right-handed track from 10 races between them.
Trainer West hasn’t had a turf winner (0-40) this year! And Given is missing strike badly – form figures in three days last week of 2342 – which is just as bad in my book. La Fritillaire is unlikely to put back to back wins together.
Philip Kirby has similar form (5 out of 10 in the first four without winning). Micky Hammond is also out of kilter. And Silver Shuffle is a bridesmaid extraordinary: 15 times placed but only two wins.
Jockeys Andrew Elliott and Alice Mills have shared 68 losers on the trot, and Alice’s trainer here, Michael Chapman, has gone 12 years without a winner at Ripon.
Maybe the sandwiches in the bar are good! He won’t afford anything else at that rate.
Lightning Steps surprised everyone at 66-1 on the last day, and is another unlikely to repeat his success for a while.
All this is to excuse my straying on the rare path of backing a very much older horse. Despite his 10 years, La Bacouetteuse (BETDAQ offers of 5.0) could go well for a stable that is absolutely flying, now that Hazely is a nonner.
7.40 Leicester The runners in this are not much cop either. Alnashama (3.7 on BETDAQ as I write) is the only horse in the race to have improved his rating in recent weeks, and his trainer has an excellent strike rate here; it’s his only runner (his sole starter at Wolver, May Rose, should win, too).
If there’s a surprise, and this well-placed opportunity is foiled, it might come from rank outsider, Top Beak (22.0), who ran in a Classic trial in the Spring and plummets in class. May not have trained on but worth a last-chance-saloon punt at the price.
DAQMAN TIPS (staked 1 to 9 for strength)
BET 8pts win (nap) PURE FANTASY (4.00 Ripon)
BET 8pts win MAY ROSE (6.00 Wolverhampton)
BET 6pts win LA BACOUETTEUSE (5.00 Ripon)
BET 7pts win ALNASHAMA, and 1pt win and place TOP BEAK (7.40 Leicester)
£25 IN FREE BETS
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