WINNERS IN THE DAQMAN FASHION: THEY’RE FREE! You’ve gotta believe it! Incredulous (WON 6-4 nap) and a tasty place hit with Fashion Free (3RD 8-1) won 30 points for Daqman yesterday, which made up for his feature-race bets getting rolled over by a 25-1 shot.
HEADS UP FOR DAILY JULY MEETING INFORMATION: Today is the second day of Daqman’s preview to the July Meeting at Newmarket (Thursday to Saturday). A Heads Up on facts and figures for each day will continue throughout the meeting.
INCREDIBLE DETTORI: 64% STRIKE!
One more flying leap? Frankie Dettori brings to the July Meeting tomorrow an incredible current strike rate of 64% (9-14), with his form figures since June 30 showing four Group-1 wins and only three unplaced: 11121013101011.
HEADS UP: Frankie has ELEVEN booked rides: four Thursday, two Friday and five Saturday, hottest among them Visinari (July Stakes tomorrow) and Advertise (July Cup on Saturday), the only Group-1 chance of a fifth flying dismount in 14 days.
That would be EIGHT Group-1 wins for Dettori in the 44 days since Anapurna won the Epsom Oaks.
HEADS UP: Charlie Appleby has won with six of his 11 runners on the July course this season and landed a treble on the Saturday of the July Meeting last year.
Charlie has TWENTY entries during the three days, including American Graffiti, Masar and Wings Of Time, all three doubly engaged.
His surprise entry for Saturday’s Superlative Stakes is King’s Command, though he won only narrowly first time out. Two strong clues for success on Saturday: that ‘first run first win’ was on this very July Course and the colt is by Dubawi, which often signals rapid improvement.
HEAD’S UP: Though his most recent win was only a class-3 handicap, Raydiance is entered big time in Saturday’s Bunbury Cup, then in the International Handicap at Ascot and the Golden Mile at Goodwood.
Once thought to have Pattern potential until trainer Karl Burke met with a snag: his four-year-old must have soft ground.
Keep a weather eye open. It’s just the sort of English thing that happens at Newmarket, Ascot and Goodwood. Everything’s fine and dandy, then splosh.. a cloudburst! One on Saturday could bring the rain of Raydiance!
HEAD’S UP: Mark Johnston has already jockeyed up three horses for the opening race on Friday: Dark Vision (James Doyle), Oasis Prince (Jamie Spencer) and The Trader (Joe Fanning).
Johnston has won this race FIVE times in the last six seasons, and has form figures in it of 111101, but that’s only half the story. All five winners were big prices: in order, 8-1, 13-2, 12-1, 25-1, 8-1.
WHISKEY, WATER & CHERRY COLA TO FOLLOW
2.30 Catterick Whiskey And Water returns to the flat having won over hurdles last month at Market Rasen.
This looks an easy opportunity for him to lose his maiden tag on the flat and can provide trainer Brian Ellison with a welcome winner. There has been a little bit of rain about at Catterick this morning and that is certainly a positive as the more a stamina test it becomes the more he should relish it.
The opposition doesn’t look the strongest. Star Talent was only a modest fourth when stepped up to this trip for the first time at Wolverhampton last time out (the Mark Johnston trained Jukebox Blues last of the seven finishers that day) and Surrey Warrior is going the other way, stepped down in trip having finished sixth over 1m 5f last time out.
2.40 Lingfield Continuing the drinks theme, the layers seem to be after Cherry Cola who bids for a fourth win on the bounce.
Her winning sequence began at Windsor in June and so far shows no sign of stopping. She has been revitalised since joining the Sheena West stable from Mick Channon and again might prove hard to beat, despite being saddled with the 6lb statutory penalty.
The Andrew Balding trained Sawasdee has been well backed on BETDAQ this morning. He ran well enough on handicap debut here on the all-weather track but was still a beaten favourite and is not one that I would be confident of backing at short odds.
The same comment applies to Baasem who remains a maiden after four starts and is now up in trip having finished sixth at Leicester last time out.
With question marks over her two main rivals in the market, the door may be left open once more for Cherry Cola.
3.30 Catterick The handicapper looks to have over-reacted in raising Bumbledon 9lb for a narrow course and distance win last month. In any event, that win came on soft ground and Bumbledon surely looks one to oppose today?
Preference is for Beryl The Petal who races off a 6lb penalty after her comfortable Pontefract win last time out – which was reward for her recent consistency.
She’s up in trip but seems just as effective over the seven furlongs.
DAQMAN BETS (staked to win 20 points)
BET 15.6pts win (nap) WHISKEY AND WATER (2.30 Catterick)
BET 7.1pts win CHERRY COLA (2.40 Lingfield)
BET 5.5pts win BERYL THE PETAL (3.30 Catterick)
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