BETDAQ OFFERS 21.0 AND 17.0 ABOUT RECORD-BREAKING GIRL RIDER: The winners are returning huge prices in France, and today Daqman finds 17.0 and 21.0 outsiders on BETDAQ ridden by record-breaking Mickaelle Michel. He also has a 17.0 bull’s-eye bet on a ride for leading jockey Christophe Soumillon which reserves its winning best for him. Headlines:
🔹 ALL IN THE ‘SOUPLE’ ABOUT THE GOING
🔹 WE MUSTN’T MISS MISS MICHEL AGAIN
🔹 SIMEEN CAN SHINE IN HER 1,000 TRIAL
🔹 GOSDEN FAVOURING A JUNE 7 GUINEAS
ALL IN THE ‘SOUPLE’ ABOUT THE GOING
I’ve got a 17.0 bet in the R2-C4 today! After 24-1, 13-1, 12-1 and 11-1 at Longchamp on Monday, the French results were even wilder at Saint-Cloud yesterday: 30-1, 27-1, 22-1, 15-1 and 11-1 among the 11 races. And so were the going reports!
I complained that we’d been given a forecast of ‘good to soft’ at Longchamp by the English Press for the Monday restart, when the track proved to be ‘very soft.’
So I switched my allegiance to Paris-Turf.com for Saint-Cloud yesterday to try to get a more accurate picture for my records after each race. I followed the going returns race by race in French with the English translation in a swing-back page..
Terrain bon souple (R1-C1) was given the translation ‘good soft terrain’
Terrain bon souple (R1-C2) was given the translation ‘good smooth terrain’
Terrain bon souple (R1-C3) was given the translation ‘good flexible terrain’
Am I missing something here? I know the word ‘nuance’ is about those subtle differences we all learned from the French, but what chance have you got with ‘flexible’, and when ‘soft’ becomes ‘smooth’ within half an hour! How come they are all ‘bon souple’? Was the race reporter at the vin rouge early?
And what’s this with R1-C1, R1-C2, R1-C3? Well, each French meeting is labelled by Paris Turf and the PMU, according to the running order on each track.
Yesterday’s Saint-Cloud card was the main meeting (hence R1) at which the races were numbered C1, C2 etc (C for ‘course’ = race).
Today, because of the Trotting Saint-Leger, the ‘trots’ at Caen (which also has the Quinte jackpot race) has R1 status, Chantilly is R2, with 10 races numbered C1 to C10.
I’m skipping Caen and hot-footing it to Chantilly, where my plan is to ‘cherchez la femme’, particularly in the R2-C4.
WE MUSTN’T MISS MISS MICHEL AGAIN
Cherchez La Femme. I was banging on yesterday about the three-cornered fight at the top of the jockeys’ table, with Pierre-Charles Boudot now leading on 41 after a Saint-Cloud double.
But I missed the riding story of the day, the return of Mickaelle Michel (pictured), which was rammed home to me good and proper when she wasted my best BETDAQ value bet of the day.
She outrode 10-times-champion Christophe Soumillon on my 9-1 shot Canada to get up on Circle Of Hands by a ‘short-neck’, another wonderful piece of Frenchness.
Mickaelle was having her first race after a stint in Japan, in which she rode 30 winners, breaking the record for a foreign jockey set by Englishman Alan Munro (29).
In 2018, Michel also broke the record for most wins in a year for a woman with 72 to land France’s apprentice title.
She had planned to stay in Japan through April but flew back to Europe in the nick of time to beat the Coronavirus regulations, hoping to get a ride in the French Classics, even Royal Ascot with flights between England and France remaining open.
Now let’s see if Mickaelle can ‘take the Mickey’ out of les hommes in four rides at Chantilly. Here’s what her day reads like:
11.00 Bouvines Her ride in a heat for unraced two-year-olds is trained by Nicolas Caullery, who saddled her 22-1 winner yesterday, Circle Of Hands. Bouvines is a similar price, 21.0 in the BETDAQ Sportsbook at time of writing.
11.30 Chant D’Automne Second of three two-year-olds Mickaelle rides today. The colt, out of an Oasis Dream mare, is a son of Dabirsim, undefeated dual Group-1 winning European champion juvenile. Could be huge at 17.0 in the BETDAQ Sportsbook this morning for this race, designated R2:C4.
12.00 Teagra A claimer for two-year-olds. Teagra is another for the Botti stable which is having a stinking run right now. Can she change their luck?
1.47 Art Collection A seven-year-old in a 6f sprint handicap for Andrew Hollinshead, son of the much-missed English jockey mentor, Reg Hollinshead. Andrew moved to Lamorlaye in 2017.
SIMEEN CAN SHINE IN HER 1,000 TRIAL
10.30 Chantilly (Prix de la Pistole) Jean-Claude Rouget’s French Derby hope Port Guillaume made it 3-3 at Saint-Cloud yesterday.
Today the stable’s Lope De Vega filly, Simeen, should complete a hat-trick and set her sights on the French 1,000 Guineas on June 1. Victory today would ensure she takes on Tropbeau, favourite for the fillies’ first Classic after winning the Prix de la Griotte trial this week.
Andre Fabre remains out of form (1-17) or Bionic Woman, fourth in the Marcel Boussac at the Arc meeting, might be a serious danger.
1.12 Chantilly (Prix Texanita) Alocasia, runner-up to Tropbeau at Deauville last July, followed up with victory in a Listed. The Kingman filly may need further in her second season.
Even stronger form for a runner-up was by Christophe Soumillon’s mount, My Love’s Passion, when second in the Robert Papin, and she may have the edge today after a run back here at Chantilly in March in the race won by Wanaway from Abama.
My Love’s Passion was in need of the run on heavy ground, when beaten favourite that day, and the tables may be turned, with the Chantilly going said to be soft but not deep (assez souple then; quite ‘flexible’). BETDAQ 7.5.
1.47 Chantilly Tudo Bem, who ran in January and February, has had 24 races and won just four but three of his victories form part of a superb record when ridden by today’s jockey, Christophe Soumillon: 11401. Cracking 17.0 on BETDAQ.
GOSDEN FAVOURING A JUNE 7 GUINEAS
What do they have in common? Australia, Florida, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan. John Gosden asked the question yesterday and provided the answer: they’re all racing.
He suggested a behind-closed doors return in England from June 1 (as mooted by the government) could put things in place for the Guineas on June 7 and Royal Ascot from June 16.
‘It’s been proved safer than shopping in a supermarket or going to the petrol station,’ he told the Racing Post, ‘and spacing the Guineas and Ascot like that would be the smartest thing to do for entries.’
⚠️ HEADS UP: The Derby will stay at Epsom and be run in July or early August, it was decided at a meeting in the town yesterday, responding to the Jockey Club’s proposal. The seven-race card would be held behind closed doors.
DAQMAN’S BETS
10.30 Chantilly (supernap)
BET 20pts win SIMEEN
11.0 Chantilly (win 20)
BET 1pt win BOUVINES
11.30 Chantilly (win 20)
BET 1.25pts win CHANT D’AUTOMNE
1.12 Chantilly (win 20)
BET 3pts win MY LOVE’S PASSION
1.47 Chantilly (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET: 3pts win TUDO BEM
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