COROEBUS IS ANOTHER WINNING COOKIE: Daqman’s horses-to-follow Fortune Cookies landed a fourth winner of the season from just the one bet on the first day of Royal Ascot yesterday and took total profits to 74.09. In the value-betting challenge, Daqman leads Pricewise 28-20 going into Day 2.
WON 10-11 COROEBUS (Fortune Cookie)
Day-2 Royal Ascot headlines:
👑 OAK HAS THE SPEED AND STAMINA
👑 PERFECT DAY FOR ROYAL TRAINER
👑 REST UP! HE SPOILS BRIDGE PARTY
👑 IMPROVER BASHKIROVA CAN WIN
👑 39.0 ARATUS LAID OUT FOR THE CUP
👑 LITTLE BIG BEAR TAKES AFTER SIRE
👑 MAGIC OF MOONLIGHT: BETDAQ 8.0
OAK HAS THE SPEED AND STAMINA
🎩 2.30 Royal Ascot, (Queen Mary Stakes, 5f) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday.
Wesley Ward, is bullish as ever with Love Reigns (‘she was unbelievable at Keeneland)’, bidding for a fifth winner in this prestigious fillies’ test, and needing compensation after his Golden Pal blew the start in yesterday’s Kings Stand Stakes.
We usually look to that race to provide us with information about the draw for today but the winner, Nature Strip, could have come from either side, with James McDonald standing up in the saddle in the last half-furlong while whips flailed behind to absolutely no avail.
Ward travelled Irad Ortiz to do the steering, and the Puerto Rican will hope to prove his worth this afternoon, but American rival trainer, George Arnold, offered his Grand Oak as a super spare to Irish champion, Colin Keane.
Grand Oak’s sire and dam have both produced 7f-plus winners but Grand Oak only needed hands and heels riding over 5f at Churchill Downs to book her Queen Mary cruise.
Dramatised is likely to be a hot favourite, after the second and fourth from her Newmarket victory in April have posted three wins since.
Dramatised’s jockey, Danny Tudhope, boasts form figures from Royal Ascot’s opening day yesterday of 211, after chasing home Baaeed and then landing a 356-1 double with Dubai Future and Get Shirty.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 104%): 4.3 Love Reigns, 4 Dramatised, 62.0 Grand Oak (42.0 each way).
PERFECT DAY FOR ROYAL TRAINER
🎩 3.05 Royal Ascot, Wednesday (Queens Vase, 1m 6f) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday
Even after the tension of Baaeed’s triumph yesterday, William Haggas is mopping his toppered brow, for the months of work that have gone into planning a victory for The Queen at the platinum meeting with Perfect Alibi.
Perfect Alibi, who swerves the Ribblesdale ‘Ascot Oaks’ over two furlongs shorter for this, faces the Frankel colts, Nahanni, who was 7th of 17 in Desert Crown’s Derby, and Baltic Bird, another whose step-by-step progress can be seen in his form.
The money early doors was for Baltic Bird and Eldar Eldarov, a Dubawi out of a Sea The Stars mare, whose value from a yearling to a two-year-old soared from £110k to £480k, seen only once since when beating an easy Ayr winner at Newcastle.
🤔 LAYS LOGIC: The third home behind Eldar Eldarov was a stablemate of Baltic Bird called Honiton, who went clear and won nine lengths at Sandown last weekend. I prefer to see that as a boost for Baltic Bird over Eldar Eldarov, who is unrried on a sound surface and has raced only twice.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 103%) 11.0 Baltic Bird, 18.0 Perfect Alibi, 4 Eldar Eldarov
REST UP! HE SPOILS BRIDGE PARTY
🎩 3.40 Royal Ascot (Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, 1m 2f) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday
Just five runners but a truly international race. Old stalwarts in England (Lord North) and Francxe (Grand Glory) challenge young aces in the Japanese Shahryar and Sir Michael Stoute’s unbeaten Bay bridge.
A face-off between these twop four-year-olds has been declared one of the banquets of the royal meeting but don’t ignore what Hoseph O’Brioen brings to the table.
Ireland makes up the five nations with a truly international horse! State Of Rest has won the Saratoga Derby (on firm), the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley and the Prix Ganay at Longchamp.
Shahryar, winner of the Sheema Classic over such as Pyledriver and Alenquer, is dropping back in trip; Bay Bridge and State Of Rest are the pair most comfortable with 1m 2f.
International handicaps have put their heads together and come up with 121 Bay bridge, 120 Shahryar and 119 State Of rest. It’s that close!
In landing five in a row, he has stepped up 31lb in the ratings; mpressive in the Brigader Gerard Stakes last mon th, when he had yesterday’s winner, Dubai Future, 11 lengths behind.
But I thought State Of R est unlucky not to win a fourth international race in a row when left with too mcuh to do behind Alenquer in the Tattersals Gold Ciup at the Curragh the last day/
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ BETTING EXCHANGE offers total 102%) 2 Bay Bridge, 5 Shahryar, 7.8 State Of Rest.
IMPROVER BASHKIROVA CAN WIN
🎩 4.20 Royal Ascot (Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, 1m) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday
Though only eight runners, France (2) and Germany (1) send over three fillies, Europe having landed back-to-back wins in 2016-17.
But be warned that they both were lucky to have a day of softish ground at Ascot. And today Sibila Spain and Novemba (both Group-2 winners on good to soft), along with Kennella (1-13 scored on heavy) are not guaranteed to like the firmish surface.
You are left choosing between last year’s three-year-old form and an improver, Bashkirova, who seemingly needs to find another 4-or-5lb to catch Mother Earth and Saffron Beach.
They finished first and second in last year’s Newmarket 1,000 Guineas at level weights on firm, but with the positions reversed in the Sun Chariot, British Champions Fillies And Mares.
The ratings now show Saffron Beach up 6lb and Mother Earth down 3lb but receiving 5lb from her old adversary and wearing cheekpieces for the first time
The improver, Bashkirova, won a Group 3 at Epsom from a filly who had been three lengths behind Saffron Beach at Sandown last August. The gap has clearly closed.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 102%) 4.3 Bashkirova, 3.95 Saffron Beach, 4.9 Mother Earth
29.0 ARATUS LAID OUT FOR THE CUP
🎩 5.00 Royal Ascot, Wednesday (Royal Hunt Cup) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday. KEY RACE: This is a key race for Daqman (see Sunday).
It’s a big test of George Boughey’s ability today that he long ago picked out Totally Charming as a Royal Hunt Cup horse, and prepped him accordingly.
Collateral form goes like this: Legend Of Dubai (gv 2lb) went four lengths clear of Carolus Magnus in April, after being fifth to Coase, who was in receipt of a stone when short-heading Intellogent. Totally Charming was six lengths clear of Carolus Magnus at Epsom in June.
From those form lines, you get Intellogent 101, Totally Charming 101, Legend Of Dubai 100, Carolus Magnus 94, Via Serendipity 90, Coase 86.
At today’s weights then, you arrive at Totally Charming 100, Legend of Dubai 99, Intellogent 91, Via Serendipity 89.
It suggests to me that Totally Charming can carry the penalty, and in fact when he ran and won at Epsom 12 days ago, it was just so that he could get into today’s race.
The draw in the decade has returned three to low (4, 4, 6 have won); two from the middle (both stall 11) and four from high (21, 22 and 33 twice).
Magical Morning (stall 26) and Symbolize (29 but prefers cut in the ground) were placed in the Balmoral Handicap here in October.
Magical Morning, whose penalty is offset by claimer, Benoit De La Sayette, has drifted alarmingly this morning, so I’m settling for Totally Alarming and Aratus.
Aratus (24) was a 7f improver last year but is bred for further, as he showed when running on well in the Victoria Cup here last month. Looks laid out for today’s race.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 106%): 12.5 Totally Charming, 29.0 Aratus, 34.0 Magical Morning.
LITTLE BIG BEAR TAKES AFTER SIRE
🎩 5.35 Royal Ascot (Windsor Castle Stakes) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday
Extremes of the draw win this, as jockeys realise that near side and far are better than the muddle in the middle of a sprint at Ascot. The one stall (twice) and gate 6 on the far side and 20 to 28 (five winners) on the near side have scored in the last nine years.
Little Big Bear (in 2) could follow the Royal Ascot romp of his sire, No Nay Never, when he won the Norfolk Stakes. Mehmar (from 5) is the son of Mehmas, who was second in the Coventry. Mehmas is also responsible for Edgar Linton (6).
On the other side, Knebworth (out of 19 today) gave 4lb and a beating to Edgar Linton at Lingfield in May, hitting a flat spot after a fast start to get up again towards the finish.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 105%): 3.25 Little Big Bear, 13 Knebworth, 47 Mehmar (win 35 each way).
MAGIC OF MOONLIGHT: BETDAQ 8.0
🎩 6.10 Royal Ascot (Kensington Palace Stakes) STATS: See Daqman last Wednesday
The getting-out stakes is a big-field fillies’ and mares’ handicap so more like ‘getting in deeper’. This is the round mile not the straight mile of the Royal Hunt Cup.
Low numbers have an early advantage but they come across from the middle draw and crowd your horse on the rail if you are not smartly into stride and able to keep up the gallop.
Ffion was one of those well away (from stall 2) last year but couldn’t sustain her run from two out and was beaten threeparts of a length; 8lb higher now, and best form on soft.
The fast pace will suit Haziya (unexposed at the trip) but White Moonlight could follow up yesterday’s 20-1 winner for Saeed Bin Suroor and Danny Tudhope.
DAQMAN’S 1-2-3 (BETDAQ offers total 105%): 8 White Moonlight, 5.8 Haziya, 13.5 Spirit Of The Bay
DAQMAN’S BETS
2.30 Royal Ascot (win 10, win 40 e.w.)
BET 3pts win LOVE REIGNS
BET 1pt e.w. GRAND OAK
3.05 Royal Ascot (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 5pts win BALTIC BIRD
BET 3pts win PERFECT ALIBI
3.40 Royal Ascot (win 20)
BET 3pts win STATE OF REST
4.20 Royal Ascot (win 20, nap)
BET 6pts win BASHKIROVA
5.00 Royal Ascot (win-50 bull’s-eye bets)
BET 4.25pts win TOTALLY CHARMING
BET 1.75pts win ARATUS
5.35 Royal Ascot (win 10, win 35)
BET 5pt s win LITTLE BIG BEAR
BET 1pt e.w. MEHMAR
6.10 Royal Ascot (win 20)
BET 4pts win HAZIYA
BET 3pts win WHITE MOONLIGHT
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.
