JOIN DAQMAN ABC SEARCH FOR THE DERBY WINNER: After two Classic hits with his outsiders at 10-1 and 16-1, follow Daqman’s search for winners of the Derby and Oaks on the Classic trail through the trials, with ABC guides to:
TODAY: Cheshire Oaks and Chester Vase
SATURDAY: Lingfield Oaks Trial, Lingfield Derby Trial
NEXT WEEK: Musidora and Dante Stakes at York
DAQMAN HAS DOUBLED UP ON THE PRICEWISE SCORE: Daqman goes into Chester 14-7 ahead of Pricewise of the Racing Post, and is striking between 53% and 85% on his selections.
DAQMAN 14, PRICEWISE 7
LAYS LOGIC 6-7 (85%)
NAPS 10-19 (53%)
SUPERNAPS 4-5 (80%)
ANOTHER ENABLE? CHESTER CHANCE
⭕ 2.15 Chester (Cheshire Oaks) This is the race four years ago that produced an epiphany moment when I saw a filly quicken instantly from the slightest nudge of Frankie Dettori’s knee. Had anyone else seen it?
Thankfully, not enough took her side to ruin her 6-1 SP in the Epsom Oaks but she would never lose another race between this Cheshire Oaks on May 10, 2017, and the Yorkshire Oaks of August 2019.
TWELVE straight wins for Enable and my Fortune Cookies. She was favourite for 10 of them but backable seven times – at least on BETDAQ – to become the most sensational filly to follow of all time.
Keep your Frankel! For me , Enable was a superb limousine; Frankel was a dragster.. like a quarterhorse with extra gears.
Her trainer, John Gosden, has now won the Cheshire Oaks three times, Aidan O’Brien six, and they clash here today.
Ahandfulofsummers (Fozzy Stack) Oaks entry. Runner-up to Divinely on heavy as a two-year-old (see Nicest) but still a maiden after five starts, one of them this year.
Darlectable You (John and Thady Gosden) Oaks entry. From that lah-di-dah Gosden-trained family, sister to So Mi Dar, Lah Ti Dar and Too Darn Hot. Not yet earned a rating.
Dubai Fountain (Mark Johnston) Oaks entry with bags of stamina on both sides of the pedigree. Off 110, a stone clear of all bar Zeyaadah (98).
Seven starts as a two-year-old, improving at the end of the season to run second in the May Hill (Group 2) fourth in the Fillies Mile (Group 1), a neck behind 1,000 Guineas winner, Mother Earth.
La Joconde (Aidan O’Brien) Oaks entry. Daughter of Frankel, half-sister out of a Cape Cross mare to Irish Derby winner Santiago. Fizzy sort, yet to break her maiden in five attempts (04322).
Nicest (Donnacha O’Brien) Oaks entry. Won first time out last season. Same ownership as La Joconde but seemingly preferred by Ryan Moore.
Her dam, Chicquita, won the Irish Oaks. Got behind, not punished, in the mud in race won by Divinely on heavy last summer, favourite that day after winning at Leopardstown.
Quenelle d’Or (Hugo Palmer) Oaks entry. Daughter of Golden Horn, related to Ouija Board on the dam’s side. Ran well on the soft last year; made all to break her maiden at Kempton in April.
Zeyaadah (Roger Varian) Unbeaten Oaks entry. Landed hat-trick as a juvenile with a Listed win on heavy at Newmarket, so no worries about the softish surface today. The runner-up has form of 2001 in four Listeds this year.
BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE value 7.8 Nicest
WIRKO CAN LAND TRIALS DOUBLE
⭕ 3.15 Chester (Chester Vase) Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach (2011) and his Epsom hero Ruler Of The World (2013) set this trial back up on the pedestal achieved in the days of Henbit and Shergar (1980-81).
But among the same stable’s six out of seven recent Vase winners, US Army Ranger (2016) and Sir Dragonet (2019) – both beaten Derby favourites – would be two of the most costly Ballydoyle colts for punters to follow.
Fancy Man (Richard Hannon) Not entered at Epsom. Outpaced on a sound surface at Newmarket for the Feilden Stakes on reappearance but Listed winner on soft in the autumn beating Sandown Classic Trial winner, Alenquer.
Law Of The Sea (John and Thady Gosden) Derby entry. Golden Horn colt who has made steady progress from two wins, one either side of a winter break including a soft-surface Listed win at the backend. Runner-up on the last day has been well beaten again since.
Pleasant Man (Roger Charlton) Derby entry. Soft-ground winner last autumn but last of five in the Royal Lodge and looked slow in a Windsor class-5 on his return.
Sandhurst (Aidan O’Brien) Derby entry. The only one left in of three O’Brien probables in this. Winner on soft as a two-year-old; prepped behind Guineas runner-up Master Of The Seas in the Craven Stakes (firm).
Wirko (Charlie Appleby) Automatic Derby place for winning Blue Riband Trial at Epsom. Suited by today’s longer trip and could outstay Law Of The Sea.
Youth Spirit (Andrew Balding) Derby entry. Camelot colt out of sprint-bred mare. Third to Battleground at Goodwood in his first season, and fourth in the Feilden last month, staying on.
JUST A BREEZE ON SOFT GROUND
⭕ 2.45 Chester Best to be drawn low, two or three off the rail: in fact, five winners out of eight came from stalls 3 or 4. No winning favourite for nine years now.
Cuban Breeze, from stall 3 for local trainer Tom Dascombe, has been outpaced on firm ground this year, but did well on the soft last year.
Has been used to carrying 9st 6lb to 9st 10lb in her last four starts and, while her rise in class here demands improvement, she drops in weight to 8st 2lb.
Dascombe also runs Harmony Lil, who is 2-2 at Chester, and finished close up at Ripon on her reappearance, though the ground is a worry (form on good to soft/soft 00404).
Army of India, a winner twice on AW, who ran well last month on firm, has to defy a family trait against soft ground.
Showalong, a winner twice on soft and already seen out this year, must go well for Tim Easterby, who has struck form with 10 winners in a fortnight (in time for York as always).
BETDAQ value 10.0 Cuban Breeze
⭕ 3.45 Chester Pivoting appeals after gelding and a run back last month, and is another for Tim Easterby.
Just pipped over the stiff Beverley 5f before scoring on the soft at Pontefract, this son of a Kings Stand winner looks well drawn in stall 3 and nicely placed in the handicap.
BETDAQ value 9.0 Pivoting
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.15 Chester (win 20)
BET 4.5pts win NICEST
Saver: 2pts win DUBAI FOUNTAIN
2.45 Chester (win 30, win 10)
BET 3.5pts win CUBAN BREEZE
BET 4pts win SHOWALONG
3.15 Chester (win 20, nap)
BET 10pts win WIRKO
3.45 Chester (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 6.25pts win PIVOTING
What are points? Points facilitate a staking plan, which is the secret to creating profit. One point is whatever you choose: a pound, a euro, or whatever ….
Start with a bank and decide how much you can afford to lose over a period of time, and determine the size of your bets accordingly. Daqman makes this variation every day.
