YORK OPENS WITH YOUR FREE DAQMAN SERVICE: Daqman presents a full form and facts guide to the opening day at York today with all you need to pick your winners (and lay your losers):
➡️ Leading trainers and jockeys (10 years)
➡️ Draw influence and favourites
➡️ Race-by-race form analysis
➡️ Value picks from BETDAQ morning offers
THE CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Daqman 58 Pricewise 27 Daqman 417 points clear to 10pt stakes
Bull’s-eye naps (6-12 for 50% strike rate) 264 points, recommended stakes
Supernaps (18-26 for 69% strike rate) 118 points up to 20pt stake
TODAYS’ HEADLINES
🔹 SCORE WITH YORKSHIREMAN HAGGAS
🔹 DESIRE A DANGER TO 14.5 SHOT GUN
🔹 VITALOGY’S FORM IS BOOSTED TWICE
🔹 LOGIC TO TRUST THAT MAN FRANKIE
🔹 VERSATILE JAPAN LOOKS VALUE AT 6.8
🔹 PUNTERS WAKE UP TO SLEEPING LION
SCORE WITH YORKSHIREMAN HAGGAS
Skipton-born, Newmarket-based William Haggas and Thirsk’s Kevin Ryan have kept the flag flying for Yorkshire, well clear of champion trainer John Gosden and with at least twice as many winners as Aidan O’Brien in the last 10 seasons.
LEADING YORK TRAINERS (10 years; this meeting only; updated daily): William Haggas (20), Kevin Ryan (14), John Gosden (11), Sir Michael Stoute (10), David O’Meara (9), Charlie Appleby (8), Richard Fahey (8), Aidan O’Brien (7), Tim Easterby (6), Michael Dods (6), Saeed Bin Suroor (6), Andrew Balding (5), Richard Hannon (5), Mark Johnston (5), Charles Hills (4), John Quinn (4), Tony Martin (3), Dermot Weld (3), Tom Dascombe (3), Hugo Palmer (3), Michael Bell (3).
JOCKEYS Frankie Dettori (21), Jamie Spencer (13), William Buick (12), James Doyle (9), Paul Hanagan (8), Daniel Tudhope (8), Silvestre De Sousa (7), Philip Makin (7), Oisin Murphy (7), Ryan Moore (6), Andrea Atzeni (5), David Allan (4), Robert Winston (4), Tom Queally (4), George Baker (3), Jim Crowley (3), Harry Bentley (3), Paul Mulrennan (3), Richard Kingscote (3), Luke Morris (3).
FAVOURITES: 1.55 race 0%; 2.25 20%; 3.00 50%; 3.35 50%; 4.15 30%; 4.50 20%.
DRAW: 1.55 stalls 11-18 60%; 4.15 7-17 80%; 4.50 11-18 60%
GOING: Good (mostly cloudy)
DESIRE A DANGER TO 14.5 SHOT GUN
1.55 York (5.5f) Dakota Gold did us a favour in the Great St Wilfrid, going away from the field like the proverbial Group horse in a handicap. He’s 3lb well in today but has never put two wins together before and his three senior-handicap hits have all been with cut in the ground, including the Dash here at York last month off 11lb lower.
Dropped from the Pattern into handicaps this year, Stone Of Destiny returned to winning form on the last day – his first Turf success – after 14 straight defeats. Well placed by the trainer that day, meeting the next six home on favourable weight terms.
Final Venture, beaten a head, is a pound better off but has 23 consecutive defeats to his name, with a bridesmaid 32222 on different ground since last September.
Gunmetal swerved a Great St Wilfrid double bid, having made all to beat Dakota Gold in it last year, giving 6lb, so has 9lb to offset his rival’s apparent improvement.
Gunmetal ran on strongly at York in the Spring (5f) off 2lb higher and today’s extra half-furlong should trigger his best finish, though the poor form this year of trainer David Barron means we need a price: 14.5 on BETDAQ will do.
The Declan Carroll stable does well here but Justanotherbottle doesn’t (York form: 0343400). Orvar prefers it soft and has only ever won in class 3 on Turf, so has to improve at age 6, and Fool For You’s best form is on AW.
Harome (pronounced Ayr-um by the locals but that’s not the rule according to Hoyle) won in class 3 at York, 5lb lower. Epsom winner Watchable is high enough in the handicap but Frankie Dettori could squeeze more.
The hidden horse is Queen Of Desire, who has spent the year in Pattern company but won four out of five before that, and was way over the top at 34.0 early mouse, closed to 28.0 in the last few minutes. I shall claim 30.0.
Verdict: 1 Gunmetal, 2 Queen Of Desire, 3 Dakota Gold, 4 Watchable
VITALOGY’S FORM IS BOOSTED TWICE
2.25 York (Acomb Stakes 7f) Last year’s winner of this two-year-old test, Phoenix Of Spain, was second in the Futurity in the autumn and launched his 2019 season by winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas.
So you may not need much Persuasion to follow his trainer, Charles Hills, as he bids for back-to-back Acombs. He had won it 2014 with Dutch Connection (so this could be 3-6), who took the same maiden as Persuasion at Goodwood.
But there has, as yet, been no franking of the Persuasion form, whereas second and third to Vitalogy at Naas have both won since, including Harpocrates who is blinkered today after a shock defeat on heavy on the last day but his earlier form with Pinatubo and Siskin makes 5.9 offer Vitalogy look classy.
Cobra Eye pleased Frankie Dettori (runner-up has gone one better) and he takes the mount again.
Yorkshire Gold’s sire won the Gimcrack at this meeting. Kingbrook was weak early in the year but showed courage at Ascot on the last day.
LOGIC TO TRUST THAT MAN FRANKIE
3.00 York (Great Voltigeur 1m 4f) Major stars of the last five seasons, Postponed and Cracksman, won this traditional St Leger trial.
It went to Aidan O’Brien’s Derby third, Idaho, in 2016 and the same stable’s Norway, the Curragh Derby third, turns out today, though seemingly second string to Constantinople, if Ryan Moore’s Ballydoyle choice means anything.
Constantinople shows no sign of stepping up on his Group 3 exploits, in which he was beaten a neck, albeit giving 3lb, by Nayef Road in the Gordon Stakes (Jalmood behind), and his Gallinule win over Buckhurst (form franked in the Royal Whip) at the same level was over two furlongs shorter.
Logician, a son of Frankel out of a Daylami mare, has done all that has been asked of him, brought along slowly, and he has only to show continued progress to overhaul these nearly horses. Even money in the market shows that they think he will.
The only worry is that the O’Brien pair can make a tactical race of this small field. So it’s very much a ‘trust in Frankie’ scenario, with a small bet that will buy a bit of stake money for other races.
VERSATILE JAPAN LOOKS VALUE AT 6.8
3.35 York (International Stakes, 1m 2.5f) Crystal Ocean is the world’s best horse, according to the ratings. He seemingly has the easier prep for the Arc showdown in October than does Enable tomorrow.
I discussed the International yesterday, ratings and all, but delayed my verdict, and have been considering since whether my Fortune Cookie, the improver King Of Comedy, or Japan rate an each-way bet.
They are locked as close together in the ratings as Crystal Ocean and Enable, but Japan has done far more to warrant backing for a place and chancing for a small-stakes win, should anything go wrong with the favourite.
With King Of Comedy, you are relying on further improvement for this step up in trip. Highly likely he would reverse the Royal Ascot (1m) form with Circus Maximus, but may need another race to reach the very top. He’s had only five.
Japan has top-class Group-1 status and the stamina and crusing speed to wait on this field: Epsom Derby third, ‘Ascot Derby’ winner by a wide margin and Grand Prix winner at Longchamp.
With the Arc set for a match, they need to know today which training option to take for Japan: targeting the Champion Stakes or the St Leger. He may be versatile enough for both.
The Ballydoyle ‘lads’ now acknowledge that he is the best of their blanket finishers at Epsom and today’s battle is between the generations, with possibly the best three-year-old in training getting 7lb from a five-year-old. I took 6.8 the win and evens a place.
PUNTERS WAKE UP TO SLEEPING LION
4.15 York (2m+) The stats say that Dubawi Fifty is old for this at six and he doesn’t take much racing, with long breaks between his Cesarewitch fourth in 2017, then his Chester Cup fourth and Ascot Stakes second last season.
At this point, insert a year off before his Northumberland Plate second in June (not well in now with the fourth, Batholomeu Dias).
Dubawi Fifty flopped at Goodwood after that and, Frankie or no Frankie, I can’t lay out my hard-earned on the basis of his ’nearly’ form in the top flight against the reality of just two AW wins 18 months ago.
I know that trainer Karen McLintock thinks he’d make ‘a lovely jumper’ and I’d rather wait for his hurdles debut.
When Charlie Fellowes and Stevie Donohoe were riding high, Carnwennan landed a hat-trick, culminating in the Northumberland Vase (Plate consolation) then, up 16lb, he flopped at Newbury on the last day, which they blamed on the softish ground.
But Fellowes and Donohoe have had just one winner between them in the last two weeks, and the only other CD winner in the race, Mancini, who tried to give Carnwennan 12lb in May, now meets him at levels.
Infrastructure should close down Charles Kingsley at revised weights on their Newmarket July course form but both are stepping up to this trip. When they tried that with Eddystone Rock 10 days ago, he won first time; but it’s asking a lot of a seven-year-old to follow up.
Bartholomeu Dias (34.0 on BETDAQ) and Mancini should go well but there are several unexposed at the trip. The well-backed Brown Jack runner-up Sleeping Lion (10.5) and Melting Dew are both better than the bare form.
DAQMAN’S BETS
1.55 York (win 50 bull’s-eye bets, win 10 place)
BET 3.75pts win GUNMETAL
BET 1.85pts win and place QUEEN OF DESIRE
2.25 York (win 50 bull’s-eye nap)
BET 10pts win (nap) VITALOGY
3.00 York (win 10)
BET 10pts win LOGICIAN
3.35 York (win 20, place win 10)
BET 3.5pts win and 10pts place JAPAN
4.15 York (win 50 bull’s-eye bets, win 10 place)
BET 5.25pts win SLEEPING LION
BET 1.5pts win and place BARTHOLOMEU DIAS
4.50 York (win 20)
BET 1.75pts win MALVERN
BET 1.5pts win HARD NUT
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.
