4-1 MOVE MAKES THE BISHOP KING: It took a leap of faith to stay with Daqman’s play yesterday until he finally got on the board in his last betting race, defying the SP favourite, Smartie Artie, and the early gamble Breden, with Bishops Leap (WON 4-1), a seven-point bet that made the day respectable.
A CHAMPION’S THURSDAY LAUNCH: The week’s top-class racing includes the Desmond Stakes (Group 3) at Leopardstown on Thursday but Daqman has his eye on something on the same card in a maiden that’s launched a star.
MONOCLE MAY BE THE NEW FREE EAGLE
What might have been! As with the rest of us, owners and trainers have regrets when fate deals a joker that trumps our winning hand, just when we think we can relax and celebrate..
Dermot Weld was clearly handling an ace for the Moyglare Stud in High Chaparral’s son Free Eagle, when he swooped to make a winning debut two years ago this Thursday at Leopardstown.
He slammed the next year’s Chester Vase winner, Orchestra, by an easy five lengths but was himself seemingly put in his place when beaten six lengths next time out.
What we didn’t know then was that the horse that stuffed him back at Leopardstown in September, 2013, was the future Derby winner, Australia, with the Dee-Stakes-winner-to-be well behind in third.
But that was the end of Free Eagle for another year, his wings clipped by injury, until a seven-lengths Group-3 score last September.
But his return to genuine hall-of-fame standing didn’t happen until June this season when he beat by a short-head at Royal Ascot the horse that would chase home Golden Horn in the Eclipse, The Grey Gatsby, classic benchmark of two generations.
Free Eagle is now on target for the International Stakes at York next week, maybe even the Arc in October.
Meanwhile, Dermot Weld is back at Leopardstown for the same maiden, I hope with another unraced gem of a two-year-old, Monocle.
One to keep an eye on (stop it, Daqman)? I’ll say. He’s a boggllng combination of converging lines to Derby, St Leger and Arc.
By King’s Best, the sire of Workforce (Derby and Arc), his dam is a half-sister to Workforce by Racing Post and St Leger hero Brian Boru and granddaughter of a Park Hill winner.
Monocle may be a monarch of all he surveys, if that neat family mix works out with force.
David O’Meara, who won the Desmond last year with Custom Cut, intends to saddle Lincoln Handicap runner-up Mondialiste, a Listed winner on the last day.
Ger Lyons, successful with a three-year-old, Future Generation, in 2011, can choose between two second-season animals this time around, Convergence and Sacrificial.
Convergence, seventh in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, won a Group 3 at Leopardstown in June, and Sacrificial has won three times from five starts this season and was third in the Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot.
DOGS ARE BARKING BAQQA AT LINGFIELD
2.00 Lingfield Sir Mark Prescott won this with a maiden last year and fields another one today in Legal Shark, with the stable a sensational eight wins from its last 11 to start.
Legal Shark has tried all the AW tracks, bar Lingfield and, in an open race (5.2 the field on BETDAQ, as I write), could have found his home run. I took 9.4.
3.35 Lingfield Alan Swinbank makes the 560-mile round trip South with Jubilee Brig, a CD winner at Lingfield in April and back to form last time out under today’s pilot, Megan Nicholls. There was 5.4 available in the BETDAQ orange at the time of writing.
4.05 Lingfield Paul Hanagan’s sole ride at Lingfield is for the handicap debut of Baqqa, who has shown up well in her maidens and should now reclaim some of her 400,000-guinea price-tag. Banker.
NOW FOR THE HAT-TRICK WITH SERENITY
6.45 Nottingham David Pipe is out of form, Jumps and Flat (only one winner in 2015) and Ian Williams’ Flat runners have been considered no-hopers at 14-1, 20-1, 33-1, 40-1, 50-1 and 66-1 (three times) in August so far.
I shall also delete Kodicil, who has never won off such a high mark and much prefers a right-handed track.
If I’m correct in these assumptions, I’m left with 100-70 market of value in which to find the winner, or at least play for an early position until we see how the money flows.
With Statsminster’s failure to step up beyond 1m 4f, Hallstatt now nine years old and Always Resolute never resolute in my form-book, I shall back the favourite, Serenity Now, for a hat-trick. His 3.3 now looks big!
7.00 Ffos Las Unison (8.0 on BETDAQ this morning) has dropped back to last year’s winning mark, and has got the good-to-soft ground that has brought him four victories, two of them on this course.
Peak Storm wins only at Chepstow and Miniskirt at Southwell. Man of Harlech has won just his maiden, always a bad sign. Time is on his side but weight isn’t.
Muraabit benefitted from a step up to 10 furlongs in Ireland, so I’m not sure about this mile for his first run since moving to Newmarket. I’m therefore taking Taqneyya as my three-year-old in this race at around 4.0.
DAQMAN’s bets (staked 1 to 9 for strength; 10 is a banker)
BET 2.5pts win LEGAL SHARK (2.00 Lingfield)
BET 4.5pts win JUBILEE BRIG (3.35 Lingfield)
BANKER: BET 10pts win (nap) BAQQA (4.05 Lingfield)
BET 8pts win SERENITY NOW (6.45 Nottingham)
BET 6pts win TAQNEYYA and 3pts win UNISON (7.00 Ffos Las)
NEW !!!
You can now follow BETDAQ updates on Google+
For further details – CLICK HERE
£20 FREE BET
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.
