SUPER SIX HITS FOR GOODWOOD AND GALWAY: With the Galway Festival forecast for ‘rain’ and Glorious Goodwood ‘mostly sunny’, you’ll need to pay close attention to equine likes and dislikes underfoot, as two big racing weeks join forces for a long day’s punting. Daqman chooses six races from among them.
ANY ADVANCE ON 50 WINS AGAINST PRICEWISE: Daqman starts the day 50-19 up on Pricewise, with 71 points profit to single-unit level stakes at SP. Pricewise is minus 63 points. Daqman’s Fortune Cookies are showing a profit of 941 points to 20-point stakes.
THERE’S GOLD OVER THE RAINBOW
1.50 Goodwood That man, Mark Johnston (80 winners at the glorious meeting) is straight back on the rampage in a race he’s won four times in the decade, usually with horses well exposed though only four or five years old.
No blanket Johnston handicap coverage here in the manner of an O’Brien Classic attack. Not this time. With no more ado, it’s Rainbow Rebel!
Never seen on this track before and raised 16lb since June for a hat-trick, all three races further than today.
I think we can guess what that means: the usual Johnston style, as perpetrated by Joe Fanning and his ilk. Go to the front; use your stamina and stay there!
That’s an instruction Johnston has always denied giving but – as he did at Pontefract over 1m 2f – how else is his 12-furlong winner going to outgun this field.
His immediate threats on form must be Royal Hunt Cup runner-up Afaak and the William Haggass contender Alfarris, who is massively better off with Rainbow Rebel on their Chelmsford one-two, and was last night’s g amvble of the race.
But both are drawn low so, while Rainbow Rebel has to get across to put his stamina into play, Afaak and Alfarris have to suffer on the rails and try for an opening later.
The man who can teach them everything about the skills required for a Goodwood jockey is Adam Kirby, who has won this for the last three years on different horses for different trainers from different draws.
His luck may have run out here, as he’s in the ‘coffin box’ one stall, riding Not So Sleepy who is – on the stats – too old at six and with ground to make up on Alfarris and Pivoine on Sandown running.
I took 8.0 or so about each of Alfarris and Rainbow Rebel on BETDAQ.
COSMIC! HE’S OUT OF THIS WORLD
2.25 Goodwood (Vintage Stakes) Fourth in the Windsor Castle and winner of the Railway Stakes from six outings, Van Beethoven brings experience to the table for Aidan O’Brien, whereas the buzz horse of the race, Confiding, has raced only once.
Confiding was impressive at Newbury but second and third have let the form down in better-class races since.
Dark Vision’s victory has also been knocked by the runner-up, though the third horse has won since.
I shall stick to my Fortune Cookie. Cosmic Law looked top flight at Epsom but not too good on the very fast ground at Royal Ascot.
Well give him an each-way chance to redeem himself now we’ve had a bit of rain on a track that should suit: 11.0 on BETDAQ this morning.
HERE HE COMES: SIR DANCEALOT!
3.00 Goodwood (Lennox Stakes) The last two winners, Dutch Connection and Breton Rock are back for more but younger horses usually win.
I’ve not been convinced by Guineas second and St James’s Palace fourth, Tip Two Win. Spring form has been largely overtaken.
The Criterion Stakes (7f), when Sir Dancealot beat So Beloved, suggests that David Elsworth’s four-year-old raced above himself when fourth in the July Cup despite a seemingly impossible task.
The return to 7f on this track from a 4 draw looks ideal. Stalls 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 have won seven of the last nine.
Sir Dancealot should get revenge at these weights on his Leicester conqueror Emmaus, with the main danger possibly Here Comes When, despite his age.
Last year’s Sussex Stakes winner on today’s course has clearly been laid out for this but could do with a bit more rain, hence 14.0 on BETDAQ this morning, with 5.0 Sir Dancealot.
3.35 Goodwood (Cup) He’s been a great Fortune Cookie, winning the Gold Cup for us after the Yorkshire Cup, and I shall not desert Stradivariuus now, as he bids for back-to-back Goodwood Cups.
‘RATE’ GOOD ON BETDAQ EXCHANGE
5.20 Galway Willie Mullins has won this Listed novice hurdle twice in the last three seasons, with five-time sequence scorer Long Dog and subsequent Albert Bartlett winner at the Cheltenham festival, Penhill.
Willie didn’t have much to offer in this last season but this time around Ruby Walsh’s mount Exchange Rate (two wins) and Paul Townend’s Pandora (one) are unbeaten, and the form of the race is an open book to him.
Exchange Rate is worse off with runner-up One In All In but wasn’t asked a serious question at Wexford, and his rival boosts the form, with wins before and after that race.
The big field Pakora beat at Cork in May didn’t amount to much, though she and the second came right away.
The handicapper rates the horse that beat Canardier at Roscommon in June at 131 but that horse is trained by none other than W Mullins. So Willie seems to know all the secrets of the collateral form.
STORY OF AN OVERNIGHT GAMBLE
7.40 Galway (Mile) Riven Light had had a run before winning this last year; in fact, was placed in a Premier handicap at the Curragh.
He also had a better draw in 10. Today’s 18 has been overcome once before but it needs some jockeyship (over to you, Danny).
Baraweez, sixth last year, is better in, but also has a wide, wide stall (16) and winners of this are usually aged four or five; six at the most. He’s eight.
Saltonstall (drawn 2), runner-up in the Irish Lincolnshire, has got his ground. Did really well, fading only in the final furling, in the Royal Hunt Cup on the very fast surface.
He finished only just behind Burnt Sugar, who has won the Bunbury Cup and the Ascot International since.
Fourth in the Hunt Cup was What’s The Story (stall 4), blinkered for the first time today and a winner on the soft. Last night’s gamble of the race.
Massif Central (10), who likes to lead, has a weights pull with Saltonstall on earlier form but is not guaranteed to make up the leeway.
Inscribe has climbed 22lb since the first of three wins out of four since last October.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.50 Goodwood (win 30 each)
BET 3.75pts win ALFARRIS
BET 2.9pts win RAINBOW REBEL
2.25 Goodwood (win 30)
BET 3.25pts win and place COSMIC LAW
3.00 Goodwood (win 20)
BET 3.5pts win SIR DANCEALOT
BET 1pt win and place HERE COMES WHEN
3.35 Goodwood (SP)
SUPERNAP: 20pts win STRADIVARIUS
5.20 Galway (win 20)
BET 13.75pts win EXCHANGE RATE
7.40 Galway (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 6.75pts win SALTONSTALL
BULL’S-EYE BET: 4.5pts win WHAT’S THE STORY
FORTUNE COOKIES
2.25 Goodwood COSMIC LAW
3.30 Goodwood STRADIVARIUS
7.40 Galway SALTONSTALL
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