A NAP-HAPPY START TO GALWAY: Daqman kicked off Galway with a winner when landing his nap, Bachasson (WON 5-4), in the very first race at the festival yesterday, then added True Solitaire (WON 6-4), Dermot Weld’s first of the meeting.
THAT DAQMAN SPREE ENDS 17-0: At last! Pricewise had his first winner since July 10, catching up a notch on Daqman’s 17 winning bets in the same races since then. The score is now Daqman 66, Pricewise 11 (overall 207-84).
GOODWOOD NAP: GALWAY BANKER: Daqman today finds offers up to 24.0 appealing on BETDAQ, but goes for a Daq Multiples double with a nap at Goodwod and a banker at Galway.
DOYLE NEEDS TO BEAT LOW DRAW ON ELHAAME
2.00 Goodwood Mark Johnston has won the Goodwood opener four times since 2006. Four-year-olds are 8-2 up on five-year-olds, and Johnston has three runners in these age groups.
Sennockian Star (drawn 4) has had 13 races this year though, if not jaded, is still on a winning mark, a pound lower than when taking this race a year ago from the adjacent stall.
The high numbers usually do best, avoiding the crowding on the inside and, while the unknown quantity Zand will appreciate the soft ground, he has to overcome ‘the coffin box’ (gate one). Elhaame’s in three.
Fire Fighting is high drawn; he’s another who’s had a long year already: 14 starts for only one win though that, and his third at Royal Ascot, was enough to sky him 10lb higher than his last successful mark.
Mount Logan has finished close to both Johnston runners – at York and at Ascot – and could come good now at one of the in-form stable’s best meetings after just three starts in the campaign, and the final climb will help: he needs a lot of driving to get in top gear.
The handicapper may have stopped Collaboration’s run, though the cut in the ground will help, and the glass horse, Top Tug, will need everything to drop right. Master The World is on his highest mark and his success has come on top of the ground.
VERDICT: Elhaame is back to form, and gets the vote over course-and-distance winner Mount Logan, though the draw demands a good ride from James Doyle.
Collaboration will like the cut; the worst-drawn Zand my need more rain. Once a Pattern racer for John Oxx, Zand was shortest of the Johnston trio this morning but it’s ludicrous to try to glean anything from the form of his tour of France, Italy and Switzerland.
If he’s a ‘hidden horse’, it’s an expensive way to hide him, and he’ll need to get the breaks in what could be a rough race of hard-luck stories.
2.35 Goodwood (Vintage Stakes) Richard Hannon, who saddled four in a row in the Vintage Stakes (2.35) from 2010-13, has just the one left in, Palawan, but he has to turn around Chester form with Welford.
Strong Challenge won here over a furlong shorter, beating a debutant who went on to land a hat-triick, including the Robert Papin, but he’s bred for sprinting and may not get all his own way here.
Hugo Palmer’s Galileo Gold has to step up five grades, and Birchwood has to defy a Group-2 penalty.
Birchwood will be hard to beat but I was impressed with Ibn Malik at Newmarket and I note tnhat his sire, Raven’s Pass, gets a high-proportion of soft-ground winners: a tasty 6.6 on BETDAQ this morning.
FORM CONNECTION MAKES HIM LENNOX NAP
3.10 Goodwood (Lennox Stakes) Three-year-olds have finished 11101012 in this race since 2007, and one of them could beat last year’s second, Toormore, trying to keep faith with his fans after seven consecutive defeats. He won the Vintage Stakes here as a juvenile.
Jersey Stakes winner Dutch Connection is a price because of the ground – he’s won all his races on good to firm – but I’m told that the ‘good’ going at Chantilly when he was second to Guineas runner-up Territories was the good to soft of an English racecourse groundsman, and that’s what we can expect today.
3.45 Goodwood Luca Cumani has won this twice with horses hitherto best at 11-12 furlongs. Ajman Bridge is a similar type, who is also likely to get this easy 1m 6f.
He is closely matched with Astronereus who successfully made the same step up at York. Both would have a problem at the weights with Battersea if he reproduced his winning Ascot form of last September.
In turn, Battersea and Great Hall (third to Astronereus at York) have no chance with Mark Johnson’s CD winner Notarised on Haydock form earlier this month.
But questions have to be asked: can Battersea improve on that first run of the season? Can the third Farquhar (dwelt; stayed on well) turn around the placings with Notarised on 5lb better terms?
And the Notarised form goes full circle round to York in May when Ajman Bridge tried to give him 12lb, which makes Cumani’s runner 10lb better for less than two lengths today.
Spring form would also bring in Oasis Fantasy, twice not far behind Northumberland Plate winner Quest For More, and 6lb better off with Notarised on their running in that Newcastle race.
VERDICT: 7.0 the favourite in BETDAQ orange this morning revealed the wide-open nature of this race. I again need to take two against the field, both at 9.2 as I write: Battersea and Ajman Bridge.
4.55 Goodwood Peter Chapple-Hyam has won this twice, including last season with a first-timer like Middle Park entry Sterling Lines, a son of the flying Equiano.
5.30 Goodwood Trainer of the month Hugo Palmer (Home Of The Brave, Covert Love) is going for a hat-trick in this race via Strong Steps, a quality three-year-old who fits the winner’s profile four times since 2006.
Ifwecan and Outer Space have chances on form but look exposed and will have to motor to catch the progressive front runner Third Time Lucky. I can see him struggling for position early from stall eight but finding a way through to lead up the hill, pursued by Strong Steps.
LONG DOG THE SECOND-DAY GALWAY BANKER
5.15 Galway: The older horses – over six – haven’t had a sniff of this in the decade, and the market is fronted by three young horses, with Long Dog backed like the banker he is.
5.45 Galway: There are some obvious claims at the front of the market, but I shall have a punt on an outsider. Henry De Bromhead targets this race, and his runners since 2010 have finished 112.
Saltmills Blackie was strongly fancied for his first chase in November but didn’t last out the 2m 6f and fell when tiring. He’s dropped back in trip today and could have been specially prepared for this: 24.0 on BETDAQ.
6.15 Galway: The winner has to be reckoned with. They’ve taken the Blue Wind, the Blandford, the Park Weld and the last one, Legatissimo, took the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas.
It was a 12-1 shock which broke the hold of Dermot Weld (five wins) and Aidan O’Brien (three) in the previous eight seasons. It may be significant that Weld’s Simannka edged into favouritism this morning.
6.50 Galway: Kevin Prendergast has Vastonea trying for a third win, having had Baraweez back in third last year.
Ger Lyons saddles five. Pricewise thinks he knows which one wins, but Ger Lyons doesn’t. I’ll try Stay De Night and, if he loses, look for his trainer to save stakes in the 7.20 and/or 8.20.
7.20 and 8.20 Galway: Dermot Weld is 1111001 in the 7.20 and, since 2009, has figures of 111121 in the 8.20
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 30 points)
BET 3pts win on each ELHAAME and MOUNT LOGAN (2.00 Goodwood)
BET 8pts win BIRCHWOOD and 5.3pts win IBN MALIK (2.35 Goodwood)
BET 12pts win (Goodwood nap) DUTCH CONNECTION (3.10 Goodwood)
BET: 3.6pts win on each BATTERSEA and AJMAN BRIDGE (3.45 Goodwood)
BET 3pts win STERLING LINES (4.55 Goodwood)
BANKER: BET 20pts win (Galway nap) LONG DOG (5.15 Galway)
BET 5pts win STRONG STEPS and 4.4pts win THIRD TIME LUCKY (5.30 Goodwood)
BET 1.3pts win and place SALTMILLS BLACKIE (5.45 Galway)
BET 6.8pts win STAY DE NIGHT (6.50 Galway)
DAQ MULTIPLES: 5pts win double DUTCH CONNECTION (3.10 Goodwood) and LONG DOG (5.15 Galway)
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