8-1 WINNER FOR DAQMAN: On a day when he tilted at outsiders, Daqman tried to trap the 1-2-3 in a race at Yarmouth yesterday and got winner and third. The scorer was Harwoods Volante (WON 8-1).
SATURDAY ABC GUIDE: Today he ticks off the runners in the stats boxes for Saturday’s Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, last big two-year-old test of the season.
O’BRIEN TOP TWO IN LAST-CHANCE SALOON
3.50 Doncaster, Saturday (Racing Post Trophy) The race that has this century produced High Chaparral, Authorized and Camelot offers the last chance of dislodging Churchill from top of the two-year-old tree.
A Won last time out (9/9)
B One to four starts (8/9)
C Ran on a Grade-1 track (8/9)
D Trained Aidan O’Brien (three wins since 2009)
X Stable in form
ABCD Capri
Completed hat-trick when beating Yucatan in the (Group 2) Beresford Stakes at The Curragh; kept finding more. By Galileo, brother to sub-100 performers but already warrants 114 rating though the Beresford was like a Ballydoyle home gallop, with winner, second and third trained Aidan O’Brien.
ABCD Finn McCool
Another O’Brien. Big baby who took four races to get off the mark and may go on from there. Brother to Irish Derby and Ascot Gold Cup runner-up Kingfisher, who won only a minor race in his first five starts before landing the Dee Stakes Derby trial at Chester as a three-year-old.
ABCX City Of Joy
Gradually improved to take his maiden under hands and heels riding on the last day. Well regarded by Sir Michael Stoute whose runners have been on fire in the last few days.
ABC Century Dream
Cut in the ground was a big help for him to get off the mark at Nottingham only 10 days ago.
ABC Contrapposto
Runner-up to Rivet at York, staying on strongly, before breaking his maiden with some give in the ground at Nottingham. Third, fourth, fifth, eighth and tenth at York have all won since.
ABC Raheen House
Sea The Stars colt, well related on the dam’s side, who looked strong when winning at York. A ‘proper horse’ says his trainer.
AB Brutal
Runner-up at Galway in July to Right Honourable who was then only sixth of seven to Capri at Tipperary, but Brutal broke his duck at Leopardstown in August when Finn McCool was 10 lengths adrift.
AC Frankuus
Pretty much exposed winner of a Listed on the soft (fifth start) but took off last time out when a Group-3 winner at Chantilly. Raised 11lb for that, though the small-field form may be misleading.
AC Sir Dancealot
Rockingham Stakes (Listed) winner at York, his third success and, when he was outsmarted in the Somerville Stakes at Newmarket, he may have been feeling the firm ground. Trainer David Elsworth is bullish, and has booked champion-jockey Jim Crowley.
BCD Douglas Macarthur
Beaten just over two lengths in both champion-juvenile race at Leopardstown and Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot (The Anvil runner-up).
BCD The Anvil
Galileo colt, well bred for stamina on the dams’ side (out of a Rainbow Quest mare), stayed on second in the Royal Lodge (Group 2) and third in a Group 3, also at Newmarket.
BC Bay Of Poets
Impressive Kempton winner but faded, last of eight, in the Royal Lodge behind The Anvil and Douglas Macarthur.
BC Rivet
Won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster (7f), after running on too strongly for Contrapposto in the Convivial Stakes at York. But no threat, fifth to Churchill in the Dewhurst two weeks back.
BCD Sir John Lavery
Well-regarded Galileo colt, biggest price in a Curragh maiden but good third ahead of three others from Ballydoyle.
BCD The Anvil
Yet another Galileo, close second in he Royal Lodge Stakes but disappointing third, one paced, down a grade to Group 3 afterwards.
BCD Yucatan
The umpteenth Galileo, but highly regarded as a Classic colt for next year, his juvenile programme all geared to experience.
Beat a shorter-priced stablemate at The Curragh, returning there, stepped up in grade, ran second in the Group-2 Beresford Stakes to Capri and there may not be much between them now.
C Rodaini
Excellent Listed win at Doncaster; mentally and physically robust. Ignore his last-time run at Newmarket (The Anvil third) when he dwelt, stumbled, was hampered.. all in the same race!
C Salouen
Seemingly stuck in maiden company until he finally scored in a modest race at Windsor. But, on both occasions when raised in class, he has raised his game.
Flying at the finish in the Group-3 Solario Stakes at Sandown;, he capped that as runner-up in the Lagardere (colts Grand Criterium) on Arc day at Chantilly.
By Canford Cliffs, out of a Galileo mare, he is related to middle-distance Flat horses, and a 2m hurdler and, with his attitude, could be a solid performer again next year. Last but not least in this ABC list.
DREAMFIELD BANKER FOR GOSDEN HAT-TRICK
3.40 Newmarket If you haven’t been to Sincil Bank, you haven’t lived (sorry, ‘died’); it’s the ground where Lincoln City play (sorry, wrong verb again).
Sincil Bank, the horse, lost his debut race on a penalty (disqualified for hanging). Fourth, fifth and sixth have all run unplaced since, but Sincil Bank then won comfortably, albeit beating nothing well.
Both ‘wins’ were on AW, and that’s where the bridesmaid Top Score ought to be racing, if his pedigree is anything to go by.
Parnassian didn’t show in a sales race at The Curragh and, even when dropped to class 4, after taking on Churchill in the Chesham, Justice Frederick looked edgy and unpredictable.
So it is that I try to get the nap back on track (after four in a row last week) with the odds-on Dreamfield, the million-guineas yearling who had such an easy time of it at Nottingham. Trainer John Gosden has won the only two renewals of this race.
4.15 Newmarket Gosden also runs the Frankel colt Cracksman in the Golden Horn colours, huge at 9.6 on BETDAQ against stablemate Stradivarius (saver).
5.20 Newmarket Three-year-olds have won three out of four but Fourth Way appears to have made two false starts this season, while Sharaakah has been getting nowhere fast, or rather not very fast at all.
Last time Hidden Rebel came down from Scotland, she was pipped at the post at Ascot in early September and should figure in this.
I’ll give Newmarket CD winner winner Up In Lights another chance back against her own sex, after disappointing at Doncaster: 5.6 on BETDAQ looked generous and she’s getting plenty of Press coverage, so could be a trade horse at that price.
7.20 Kempton The family of Anfass (holds Hajaj on form) don’t do well on AW; Plant Post Power has to give weight all round on the strength of winning a three-runner nursery; Sixties Habana won only a seller and finished behind Juanito Chico; and The Secrets Out has yet to beat another horse.
Shipping Forecast improved from a Chepstow maiden to run third on a grade-1 track (Plant Pot Power behind) and could have more speed than the class-5 scorer, Juanito Chico.
DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points, except the banker and the double whammy)
BET 4pts win TOM NEARY (2.10 Fontwell)
DOUBLE WHAMMY: LAY to lose 10pts AS DE MEE and BET 10pts win CHARMIX (3.20 Fontwell)
GOLD BANKER: BET 30pts win (nap) DREAMFIELD (3.40 Newmarket)
BET 4.3pts win UP IN LIGHTS (5.20 Newmarket)
BET 2.3pts win and place CRACKSMAN, and 2.5pts win (stakes saver) STRADIVARIUS (4.15 Newmarket)
BET 9pts win SHIPPING FORECAST (7.20 Kempton)
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