13 WINS OVER NINE CONSECUTIVE DAYS: There’s no stopping him – he’s got itchy feet – so Daqman goes marching on, now with at least one winner a day for NINE consecutive days. In fact, he had two out of three yesterday for a profit of around 30 points, giving him lucky 13 returns in the nine days as follows:
WON 4-5 ITCHY FEET (supernap yesterday)
WON (2nd 12-1) BALLYFARSOON (w20 place)
WON 5-1 PLUCKY DIP (Monday)
WON 11-1 JORDAN ELECTRONICS (Sunday)
WON 5-4 HERMOSA (Sunday)
WON 10-11 PERSIAN MOON (Sunday)
WON 11-1 WISSAHICKON (Saturday)
WON 4-1 DAKOTA GOLD (Saturday)
WON 8-1 BESHAAYIR (Friday)
WON 7-4 NEARLY CAUGHT (Thursday)
WON 7-2 LADY DANCEALOT (Wednesday)
WON 3-1 GEMINI (Tuesday)
WON 4-6 FARO ANGEL (Monday Sept 24 supernap)
ARC ABC GUIDE TOMORROW: Today’s Arc update reveals that the field could be depleted by Sunday so, as he did for the England and Irish St Legers and the Ayr Gold Cup, Daqman will bring you his ABC guide tomorrow plus an update on the day to include the draw.
WALDGEIST IS THE ARC GAMBLE
RASCAL’S RIVALS: The unbeaten Brundtland (Charlie Appleby) and Epsom Derby runner-up Dee Ex Bee (Mark Johnston) are to miss the Arc de Triomphe in favour of the opening day’s Prix Chaudenay in which they face William Haggas’s back-to-form Young Rascal, who earlier in the season beat Dee Ex Bee for the Chester Vase.
FALLING APART? So is the Arc falling apart? Sir Michael Stoute has already ruled out supplementing King George runner-up Crystal Ocean and the forecast firm ground means that Cracksman will probably wait for the Champion Stakes. They’re watering the course, but that doesn’t help Sea Of Class: ‘I hope they don’t overwater,’ says trainer Haggas.
MAGIC MAN: Aidan O’Brien could switch Magical and Magic Wand to the Prix de l’Opera but, as news comes of those other Arc doubtfuls, he may be tempted, as ever, to blanket cover the race (Kew Gardens and Capri are his front pair) and try to mop up the place prizemoney.
THE ZEITGEIST: Last year’s runner-up Cloth Of Stars was kept in the Arc at yesterday‘s second-forfeit stage but his trainer, Andre Fabre, was more gushing on the gallops about the gamble of the race, Waldgeist, jockey Pierre-Charles Boudet describing the four-year-old as ‘a different horse this year, very imposing and confident’.
DOLLAR LURE: Loxley (Charlie Appleby) and Shahnaza (Alain de Royer-Dupre) have accepted for Friday’s Prix Dollar, so they too could swerve the Arc. Loxley and Dee Ex Bee would have to be supplemented if they wanted to run in Sunday’s big race.
HE’S DYNAMITE! Willie Mullins, who had the one-two in the Doncaster Cup with Thomas Hobson and Max Dynamite, tries to pull off the same feat with the same two horses in Friday’s French Gold Cup, the Prix Du Cadran. His pair, 10lb clear of any French rival, could net more than £200,000 in prizemoney.
WHAT’S UP STEEVE’S SLEEVE?
3.05 Nottingham (Grassroots Nursery Final) It’s the first series final of a big day at Colwick Park but this nursery is surely a pinstickers’ race (aren’t they all at this time of year).
There’s form, if you can call it form: Indian Sounds (hampered) and the Dark Angel grey Dark Shadow dead-heated in ninth in a big-field class-2 nursery at York, and were clear in the morning BETDAQ market.
There’s trainer form of a kind: the winning stable that day, Richard Hannon’s, has lined up three against them in this: Leoube paid a 12lb penalty for winning at Bath, while Cracking Speed and Pirate now have added aids, tongue-tie and hood respectively.
Rod Millman had the winner at 10-1 a year ago, and could go close again with Steeve (16.0 offers), who has run twice at a higher level and drops back in trip.
PICK PEARL FOR THE HAT-TRICK
3.35 Nottingham (Grassroots Sprint Series Final) Hot stuff! Some 11 of the 17 in this line-up were first or second in one of their last two starts, and have altogether won 60 races.
Chris Wall and his grey mare Syrian Pearl try for a hat-trick. She won despite having to race down the wide outside in 2016 and followed up last year even though slowly away.
So, with SPs of 10-1 and 12-1, and huge odds in running because of those starting deficits, Pearl is an ideal exchange horse, easy to back before and during a race, including the morning start of 9.8 on BETDAQ as I write.
Only two are shorter: Saaheq (easy back-to-back Sandown wins at the minimum) and Operative, fifth to Saaheq on the last day and a bit better off at the weights now.
SILVESTRE LEAPS ON THE LION
4.10 Nottingham (Grassroots Middle-Distance Series Final) Angelina d’Or, Gravina, Lyrica’s Lion, Michele Strogoff and Scottish Summit have all led or chased the pace.
Maybe that’s why the overnight plunge horse with the bookies was hold-up horse Maghfoor. You have to believe a string of excuses: slow away, soft ground against him, heat stress.. You name it, he’s had it. Talk about hidden horse, I reckon he’s buried alive!
Fact is he’s won only his maiden (always a bad sign) and BETDAQ punters weren’t interested this morning, with layers offering crumbs of 11.0 and large slices of the cake at 9.6 and 10.0.
Silvestre De Sousa riding at 8st 4lb interests me, and Sheena West’s small stable had a winner over jumps the other day, so Lyrica’s Lion (4.0) may be the safest bet.
SOCIETY BETDAQ VALUE AT 10.5
4.40 Nottingham (Grassroots Stayers Series Final) The further they go around the Nottingham oval, the more the benefit of a low draw seems to kick in. They get respite; they get cover.
Affair had a similar low stall when just pipped here on firm ground in July after pulling hard as usual but he’s been beaten twice more since.
They seem certain to let him have his head today off 8st so he could be a bet and lay: 32.0 BETDAQ offers.
And he could well set up the race for his neighbour in stall 3, New Society, who ran a cracking on an even tighter oval at Chester over 2m, and has won over today’s trip in the past. Drops a grade and Clifford Lee removes a valuable 3lb: 10.5 offers
SUMMER’S BACK FOR A FIRM BET
4.55 Salisbury Summerghand landed a string of firm-ground sprints in the Spring and summer.
Now he’s down from Yorkshire to resume winning ways at a tasty 6.6 on BETDAQ. Had a bad draw at The Curragh and very soft ground at Ayr.
DAQMAN’S BETS (all staked to win 20)
BET 1.3pts win and place STEEVE (3.05 Nottingham)
BET 6pts win SAAHEQ, and 2.25pts win and place SYRIAN PEARL (3.35 Nottingham)
BET 6.5pts win LYRICA’S LION (4.10 Nottingham)
BET 2pts win and place NEW SOCIETY, and 1pt win and place AFFAIR (4.40 Nottingham)
BET 3.5 pts win (nap) SUMMERGHAND (4.55 Salisbury)
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
