DAQMAN LANDS BACK-TO-BACK NAPS: One that drifted, one that was gambled on. That’s how Daqman comes to have back-to-back naps, with Mrs Burbidge (WON 12-1) and Mokaatil (WON 2-5 from 4-5). He goes for the hat-trick at Hamilton today.
FORTUNE COOKIES FOR THE AUTUMN: Today he elevates some improvers into a final Top Ten list of Fortune Cookies for the autumn, after a sensational run with, among others, Enable and Ulysses, horses that would give any season a major lift. Now he’s hungry for more big-race wins.
FINAL TEAM OF FORTUNE COOKIES
We’ve made a fortune from Fortune Cookies. And our jackpot season is still simmering with hot hopes for the autumn, including in the Ayr Gold Cup, Cambridgeshire, Cesarewitch, St Leger and Arc de Triomphe.
We raised the bar with horse-of-the-year Enable, 25-1 winner of the Oaks, and followed up with her to win three more Oaks and a King George, plus Ulysses in the International and Cracksman in the Great Voltigeur. Here is the revised Top Ten:
CORONET Would have been a champion filly, without her stablemate Enable on the scene. As it is, she’s won the Ribblesdale and closed down Enable in three runs against her, beaten 16 lengths, then nine lengths then five lengths, and could crush the colts in the St Leger (Doncaster, Saturday, September 16)
CRACKSMAN A great year for the punter’s godsend, John Gosden, with Enable, Coronet and Cracksman, to name but a few as they say. Has improved all three in tremendous style. This column took 10-1 Cracksman for the Arc de Triomphe to win 100.
EL HAYEM Works in progress by Sir Michael Stoute – El Hayem and Poets Word – feature in this new list of Cookies, with El Hayem bred for the step up to the Cambridgeshire distance, related to Group 1 and Group 2 winners over 1m 2f on the dam’s side.
The Newbury Soring Cup sixth won the Coral Challenge (1m) at Sandown with a fine run from the rear. Seems to want the going on top, which is a worry,.
ENABLE Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Chantilly, Sunday October 1; British Champions Fillies and Mares, Ascot, Saturday, October 21; Champion Stakes, Ascot, Saturday, October 21
JOHNNY BARNES Yes, another John Gosden. Only four lengths off the winner, Brando, in the Ayr Gold Cup last season, and just 3lb higher now despite fourth in the International at Ascot and storming winner at Glorious Goodwood (both 7f). Aimed at Ayr again.
OCEANE Disappointing beaten favourite for last year’s Cesarewitch Trial but brought along kindly this season, including tried in blinkers on the last day, and he’s strengthened up with the big handicap itself as the target this time around.
Also entered by Alan King for the Cesarewitch on Saturday, October 14, are Who Dares Wins, Coeur De Lion, Top Tug and First Mohican.
MARSHA Fortune Cookies won at Royal Ascot with Caravaggio, and we saw Harry Angel, Limato and Brando finish in front of him on the July course. But the late-season sprint champion is likely again to be last year’s Abnaye winner, Marsha, who conquered Lady Aurelia in the Nunthorpe.
Marsha has improved as the year has gone by and would have won the King George Stakes at Goodwood (soft) had she not been hampered. Brando also enjoys cut in the ground.
POETS WORD Rapid improver as only Sir Michael Stoute can do it. Leapt 25lb through the grades to take Group 3 at Glorious Goodwood, and starred in a ‘scintillating’ gallop in the Trial ground at Newmarket on Saturday morning.
Backed in from notional 100-1 to 8-1 in a palace for the Irish Champion Stake son Saturday. Also entered for the Champion Stakes at Ascot, October 21
ULYSSES Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Chantilly, Sunday October 1; Champion Stakes, Ascot, Saturday, October 21
WINTER Barney Roy, Capri, Defoe, Highland Reel, Idaho, Ribchester, Stradivarxius and Winter have all added to the Fortune Cookies kitty. They are all to be followed but, for the Top Ten list, I’ll stick with Winter, who would be the one for the Queen Elizabeth 1 Stakes (1m) on champions day, October 21
FOLLOW THE TRAVELING TRAINERS
The daughter of TWO living legends! La Figlia (which, forgetting any connotations, means ‘daughter’) is by living-legend Frankel out of a mare called ‘living legend’, Finsceal Beo, who won both English and Irish Guineas, a rare feat until Winter came along in Spring this year.
Ryan Moore rides La Figlia, the filly, a 1,800,000-euro buy, at Kempton tonight (6.20) four months on from a training setback which has cut short her two-year-old career for Jeremy Noseda.
EXPERT EYE: Meanwhile, the leading two-year-old colt, Expert Eye, favourite for the 2,000 Guineas of 2018, is also sidelined (scoped ‘dirty’) at least until the Dewhurst in mid-October.
2.25 Hamilton Tom Queally got it wrong (too late on the scene at Lingfield). Ted Durcan got it wrong (led too soon when gambled on). So now it’s over to Graham lee for Retribution!
David Lanagan sends the Iffraaj gelding on a 700-mile round trip to try to break the hoodoo and put his own wheels back on the track. He’s had a stinking season and has never ventured to Hamilton before.
Not much recommendation for Retribution. But a punter-friendly BETDAQ orange allows me 5.8 the win in a win-and-place tilt (three chances of a place from eight runners) at the favourite Fleetwood Jack. Horses don’t often manage back-to-back wins at this level, so I’ll take him on.
3.50 Goodwood Here’s another musical jockeys at Kempton to get a win from a bridesmaid. Where apprentices failed, Silvestre De Sousa hoped to do better but Aurora Grey stayed on one pace, second, at Goodwood.
Jim Crowley takes over now and the drop back to 2m should suit after three wins at that level, albeit on AW. He’s 3.95 favourite in the orange this morning.
But I’m expecting a change of tactics from Mister Manduro, who could ‘do a Johnston’ and make all the running here, a 5.4 BETDAQ offer. He tried that in the Brown Jack Stakes at Ascot in July but the hat-trick seeker UAE King shot past him.
4.45 Hamilton James Given is another traveling man today, a mere 506 miles to saddle Savannah Slew, having twice attempted black type in Listed company and now hoping for some corn for the winter from the soft Hamilton surface. Offers on BETDAQ around 6.8.
7.20 Kempton Cartwright, a 9.8 shot in the BETDAQ orange early mouse, doesn’t like other horses and tends to get into a jostling match with them, so the best way to win with him is to send him to the front, as when he virtually walked over at Chelmsfor d in the Spring.
He has aimed hugely high since, including at Royal Ascot. Tonight they’re pygmies by comparison, and he may be able to fend off Clowance One (raised a grade and badly in on earlier form with King Calypso))
One-time Group contender Future Empire is a returning bridesmaid of 2015. Has only ever won his maiden, which is always a bad sign. Cartwright could eat ‘em alive tonight (whether in front or in the ruck!)
BETDAQ TIPS (each staked to win 20 points)
BET 4pts win and place RETRIBUTION (2.25 Hamilton)
BET 4.5pts win MISTER MANDURO and 1.5pts win (stakes saver AURORA GRAY (3.50 Goodwood)
BET 3.5pts win and place (nap) SAVANNAH SLEW (4.45 Hamilton)
BET 2.25pts win and place CARTWRIGHT (7.20 Kempton)
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