DAQMAN’S BIG-CHASE TIP: CLASSY AND UNBEATEN OVER FENCES: Big-race specialist Daqman rattles up the profits weekend after weekend but he also likes to list horses-to-follow Fortune Cookies in advance – 17 in yesterday’s column – and bring you the Heads Up on horses and races in the headlines before they happen. Now he names for Saturday a classy hurdler who could be a Grand National horse of the future and for today a two-year-old to watch.
DAQMAN AW TIP: 9-4 VALUE AND A WINNER BY SEVEN LENGTHS: Millicent Fawcett (WON 9-4) turned on the tap and won seven lengths like an odds-on shot at Wolverhampton yesterday to give Daqman one winner from two bets and a profit on the day.
SPINNER HAS NATIONAL LURE
⚠️ HEADS UP: I expect Sam Spinner to step up to 3m and land a hat-trick over fences at Doncaster on Saturday, confirming my belief that he could be a top staying chaser, even a Grand National horse.
He became a star of 2017 when winning the 3m Long Walk Hurdle (which comes round again at Ascot just before Christmas) then, when he had a second-chance hurdles career, with places in the 2019 Cleeve Hurdle and Stayers Hurdle at the festival, he came up against Paisley Park each time, and would do so again in the championship hurdles next year.
That has prompted a burgeoning career as a chaser, and 2-2 at Wetherby has trainer Jedd O’Keeffe keen to consider big-time jumping for one – still only seven – related on the dam’s side to Grand National runner-up The Tsarevitch and to Gungadu, who might have won, or at least been placed, in the 4m NH Chase at Cheltenham but for falling when in the lead two out.
⚠️ HEADS UP: I have not jumped on the Waiting Patiently bandwagon for my Fortune Cookies, because he has restrictions, which combine to make it impossible to put him in a horses-to-follow list.
He must have soft ground (1111 in the last three years). He gets behind in his races. He’s never been to Cheltenham. He is best when fresh.
The need for freshness suggests long-term planning but that may leave possible intermediary success behind and may all be in vain because the weather turns against him on the day. What to do?
Tricky one for trainer Ruth Jefferson, who hopes to know more after Leopardstown (Friday, December 27).. if it doesn’t come too soon after his Tingle Creek third!
⚠️ HEADS UP: Fact of The Matter needs the good ground he got when he won Friday’s cross-country at Cheltenham last year. Home form figures since on the soft: 000.
Friday’s forecast looks promising but trainer Jamie Snowden’s biggest obstacle in attempting a repeat is the Enda Bolger battalion, led by Yanworth and Josies Orders, who won the race in 2015.
Yanworth, Neverushacon and Ballyboker Bridge, the first three in a banks race at Punchestown (3m) last month, are all due to meet again, with Neverushacon better off at the weights, Ballyboker Bridge the only one to have raced over the extra distance (3m 6f), but Yanworth the only one challenging Tiger Roll in Cheltenham Festival cross-country betting.
⚠️ HEADS UP: There’s royalty at Kempton Park this afternoon which must be watched. I don’t mean The Queen, as owner of Punctuation (4.10).
I mean Punctuation himself, son of Dansili, a strong source of decent two-year-olds who progress particularly well. He’s out of a Galileo mare who was half-sister to a Champion Stakes winner.
ARRY SET TO SHAKE ‘EM UP
1.00 Leicester Shakem Up’Arry showed enough in a decent Ffos Las bumper last season to suggest he can land this on his hurdling debut with Nico de Boinvile booked by trainer Ben Pauling.
The bumper he contested (and was only beaten 4 1/4 lengths in) looked well above average for the course. The winner King Roland went on to finish a good second in a class 3 Newbury maiden hurdle and the runner-up has finished second and first in his two subsequent starts.
It would be disappointing if he didn’t have the scope to see off chief market rival Flash De Clerval who is down in class but he’ll surely need to show a lot more than he did at Ascot when beaten 36 lengths on his first start for the Dr Richard Newland yard. He also has no experience on ground this testing.
Of the others, Mr Top Hat brings a fair level of flat form to the table and it’s worth noting that his 2 wins from 28 starts were on heavy and soft ground.
2.40 Lingfield Subliminal is stepped up to 10 furlongs again – the distance he scored his only win over and judged by his run here last month looks capable of another success.
He had no luck in running that day but despite being badly hampered a furlong out he rallied well to the cause and was beaten less than a length. The handicapper has raised him a pound but the extra distance and hopefully better luck should see him hopefully go very close.
Of his rivals, Savitar was a good course and distance third last time out and is preferred to the filly Elena who sports cheekpieces for the first time but is 0-8 so far and has been beaten in worse contests than this.
At bigger odds, Al Daiha could show improved form for stepping up in trip on her handicap debut and a low risk WIN 10 is staked on her in the BETDAQ place market.
6.10 Kempton Glendevon has tumbled down the weights and might have found his level judged by a good effort here when third here last time over a mile.
The step-up in trip to 1m 3f could be a positive as he has stayed well enough over 1m 2f in two starts at Chelmsford.
DAQMAN’S BETS (all bets staked to win 10 points)
BET 8.7pts win (nap) SHAKEM UP’ARRY (1.00 Leicester)
BET 5.0pts win SUBLIMINAL and 2.8pts place AL DAIHA (2.40 Lingfield)
BET 2.2pts win GLENDEVON (6.10 Kempton)
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