AINTREE 17.0 CLOTH CAP COULD LOOK BIG AFTER SATURDAY: Today is Red Mills day at Gowran Park but first Daqman looks forward to two Saturday races which field Grand National hopefuls. If one of them wins the Greatwood or the Grimthorpe, their odds will tumble for Aintree. Cloth Cap would be too big at BETDAQ 17.0 ante-post if he followed up his Ladbrokes Trophy win.
SHORT SHOTS TO PAY FOR CATTERICK BULLS-EYE BET TODAY: No luck yesterday: one of Daqman’s trio was a non-runner; one was beaten a short-head; the other drifted like a lonely dog on a raft! What are the dogs barking today? Daqman changes his staking plan: two winners are needed to break even but one of them would make 50 points profit.
HOT BETDAQ NATIONAL OUTSIDERS
If the cap fits! Fancy one of these for a Grand National flutter? Take the BETDAQ offers now (left of the name of each horse) before they run in Saturday’s big races at Doncaster and Newbury, the Grimthorpe Stakes and Greatwood Handicap respectively.
17.0 CLOTH CAP (Grimthorpe Chase, Doncaster Saturday). Trevor Hemmings bids for a record fourth Grand National trained at four different stables.
The Isle Of Man billionaire has already won it with Hedgehunter (Willie Mullins, 2005), Ballabriggs (Don McCain, 2011) and Many Clouds (Oliver Sherwood, 2015).
Third behind subsequent King George winner, Frodon, at Cheltenham in October, Cloth Cap (Jonjo O’Neill), has been raised 12lb for winning the Ladbrokes Trophy in November, but the usual good ground at Aintree is in his favour and, at nine, he is still improving. Also engaged Kelso, Saturday.
40.0 GOLD PRESENT (Grimthorpe Chase, Doncaster Saturday). The latest Nicky Henderson bid to fill a huge gap on his CV: no National winner to date.
Jumped the National fences in the Grand Sefton (2019) but kept very quiet since.
49.0 CANELO (Grimthorpe, Doncaster, and Greatwood, Newbury, on Saturday). Owner J P McManus won the National with Don’t Push It (2010), which was also the first winner for jockey Sir Tony McCoy, and trainer Jonjo O’Neill.
Trained by Alan King, Canelo is only eight, but won the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby on Boxing Day as a seven-year-old. Excellent jumper.
72.0 BEWARE THE BEAR (Grimthorpe) Another Nicky Henderson; winner of the Ultima (2019 Cheltenham festival); fourth then fifth (to Cloth Cap) in the Ladbrokes Trophy in the last two years.
86.0 ASO (Greatwood) Trained by Venetia Williams, who won the National with Mon Mome (2009), Aso has been placed in 14 chases (five wins); second to Frodon in the 2019 Ryanair at Cheltenham but fell 9th in the Becher Chase trying National fences in December last year.
* Prices in the Sportsbook and offers on the Exchange may change, so check them out for yourself.
THE CHAMPION PICKS GREEN FOR GO
⭕ 3.00 Catterick Pull Green, the youngster of this small party, looks ready to strike as the choice of champion Brian Hughes (109 winners this season), who is currently being chased by Harry Skelton (98) and Harry Cobden (95) – the rest nowhere – for the 2020-21 title.
Hughes has ridden 150 winners for Don McCain and seems to prefer Pull Green here over Monsieur Co, on whom he’s won four times between Musselburgh and Kelso.
Relkadam has never before held his form and is being asked to carry a 7lb penalty only seven days after scoring at Wetherby.
Miss Amelia is up 13lb since her good run started in the autumn and her trainer, Mark Walford, hasn’t had a Catterick winner for six years (32 straight losers).
It’s a year less eight days since George Bewley (Article Fifty) had a winner anywhere, while Halcyon Days is 12 now and has dropped only 6lb for nine defeats since scoring here nearly two years ago.
It is down to 10lb claimer Tom Midgley to make the difference but his 2-61 strike rate (3%), with success in bumpers only, is hardly inspiring.
Pull Green 6.3 this morning on the BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE is a winner here over hurdles for Hughes, who was second on the six-year-old in his first open handicap over fences in November. Has waited the winter out for better ground.
⭕ 4.40 Leicester Meanwhile, Harry Cobden lets a few rides slip through his fingers in order to partner his Cheltenham hunter-chase hope, Cat Tiger, who shouldn’t have too much trouble disposing of a bunch of old-timers here.
Grade-3 Auteuil chase scorer who landed back-to-back wins over hurdles at Plumpton a year or so ago; in fact, was 21211 still standing after joining Paul Nicholls.
BACK BACHASSON RUN TO CONTINUE
⭕ 3.50 Gowran Park (Red Mills Chase) Henry De Bromhead goes for a hat-trick in this, with Spyglass Hill needing to raise his game if he is to follow in the hoofprints of Monalee (2019) and Chris’s Dream (2020).
But don’t rush to the ante-post prices to back the winner at Cheltenham. Monalee and Chris’s Dream have never won another race!
Spyglass Hill won the beginners’ chase on this card a year ago but he, too, has failed to score again, including when nine-lengths second to the grey Annamix, who made all in the Kilkenny Chase, also at Gowran, and also in the mud.
Annamix has failed to win since. Nor could Castlegrace Paddy keep his form after taking the Fortria at Navan in November.
But, fair’s fair, he ran in two Grade 1s, at Sandown behind Politologue in the Tingle Creek and at Leopardstown over Christmas, beaten by Chacun Pour Soi.
How poorly these in-and-out performers compare with Bachasson, the only one in the race not to let himself down or anyone else down so far in four successive victories in the last year, two chases and two hurdles.
Among them was the Clonmel Oil Chase, in which he beat Sunday’s winner Cilaos Emery, and recently the Limestone Lad Hurdle.
Bachasson was pushed out that day to beat the eight-lengths Limerick winner, Grand Roi, and the recent Boyne Hurdle scorer Beacon Edge, who had been Hattons Grace third to Honeysuckle.
DAQMAN’S BETS
3.00 Catterick (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 10pts win PULL GREEN
3.50 Gowran Park (nap)
BET 10pts win BACHASSON
4.40 Leicester
BET 10pts win CAT TIGER
DAQ MULTIPLES
1pt treble the three
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.
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