9-2 NAP: NOW FOR KERRY NATIONAL: Daqman, who napped the winner of the big race of the day, the Grade C hurdle, at Listowel yesterday with Swamp Fox (won 9-2), is back there today with his views on the Kerry National. Daqman has had at least a winner a day at good odds for the last five days:
WON 5-2 Wall Of Fire
WON 10-3 Sheikhzayedroad
WON 6-1 Captain Colby (from 10.0 Betdaq)
WON 7-2 Left Hand
WON 2-1 Upstaging
WON 9-2 Swamp Fox (10-point nap)
FRANKEL DOUBLE AT SANDOWN: Today’s nap is at Sandown, where the spotlight is on two more Frankel two-year-olds. Daqman backs one and saves on the other.
FOLLOW YOUR MOUSE AND BET BLUE
4.10 Listowel (Kerry National) This was the start of an amazing journey for trainer Mouse Morris last season, his Kerry National winner, Rogue Angel, going on to win the Irish National, and stablemate Rule The World taking the Aintree Grand National.
Mouse is back for more today with Folsom Blue leading the Fethard friends this time around, with good if not better marathon credentials than those two at this stage of the game.
Rogue Angel had won only the Galway Blazers; Rule The World had been runner-up in the previous year’s Irish National.
Folsom Blue has been third in the PP Chase at Leopardstown; third in the Punchestown Grand National trial, fourth in the Irish Grand National and seemingly running all over the Scottish National field until he was brought down.
Stablemate First Lieutenant also had a good line to marathon form when third in the Newbury Hennessy in November but has not been the same horse since and has been dropped a total of 17lb.
First Lieutenant and Folsom Blue – both for Gigginstown – are heavy ground winners. Another Gigginstown, Clarcam, has been involved in some decent races and is also capable in the mud but hasn’t improved an ounce since January 2015, according to the handicapper.
Gigginstown has three more runners: Lord Scoundrel (hiked 10lb for winning the Galway Plate), Irish National seventh Killer Crow, who will be ridden by Ireland’s leading jumps jockey, Jack Kennedy, and Wrath Of Titans, whose weight has been kept down by hurdling.
Unless reserve King’s Wharf gets a drop-out, Willie Mullins will have just the one runner, Ballycasey.
Willie had a 15-lengths winner at Listowel yesterday and Ballycasey is only four runners on from the stable’s shock Irish St Leger success with Wicklow Brave.
Ballycasey hasn’t routinely carried around 155 since the Spring of 2014. The Galway Plate third is better off with the winner, Lord Scoundrel, but 7lb worse in with the sixth, Shadow Catcher, and has always preferred around 2m 4f.
Shadow Catcher has been hard to keep out of the frame, despite a 10lb rise during his chase career, as he’s steadily improved from the novice sector.
Gas Line Boy has disappointed since back-to-back wins in November, 2014. Three Kingdoms has similarly failed to emerge from the novice ranks.
Aranhill Chief has been winner and second in the Galway Blazers, so follows in the hoofprints of Rogue Angel, form wise.
VERDICT: Folsom Blue, this morning’s 7.0 BETDAQ favourite, loves heavy ground and might have made it a hat-trick of Nationals for the stable but for being brought down in the Ayr version.
Killer Crow, whose jumping has let him down over shorter, will be helped by the slower pace demanded by the distance and the conditions.
But I just prefer Lord Scoundrel (8.2 offers), who is still only seven and, with Donagh Meyler claiming 5lb, may shrug off the Galway Plate penalty. First Lieutenant and Wrath Of Times could be thereabouts. Gas Line Boy needs to bounce back.
BOWL OUT THE LAYERS WITH YORKER
Frankel for a double? Top sprint trainers past and present can be mentioned in the same breath at Sandown today, all tied in with sire of the moment, Frankel.
Atty Persse, still training winners in the 1950s, was the handler of the ‘spotted wonder’, The Tetrarch, a champion two-year-old in 1913. Since Atty Persse, the horse of that name, is by Frankel, all eyes are on his debut (2.40).
Limonata (5.30) looks poised to break into handicaps after taking in the required maidens in the early summer when the stable was out of form.
Trainer Henry Candy has two champion sprinters in Twilight Son and Limonata’s half-sister, Limato, but Limonata is considered a middle-distance animal. We’ll still hope to see a turn of foot.
Roger Charlton, responsible for Atty Persse, has another Group-1-entered son of Frankel in Zefferino (3.15). Both could win, so a small-stakes double, but I’ll play safe and concentrate on Atty Persse.
3.50 Sandown This is appropriately named the Fortune Stakes. Whatever wins this tough Listed will go on to autumn glory.
It hinges on the questions: how much can you rely on Yorker’s South African form? And will he bounce from his good run against Scottish first raceover here?
On a line through Spark Plug and Scottish, Mustashry has no chance with him, and the more likely threat is Arcanada, though – if you take runner-up Banksea out of his last race – his wins don’t amount to much.
Yorker is here to run in the Champion Stakes. Unless he wins this convincingly, he has little chance. So I see this as his Champion Stakes, surely a nap bet at a Listed level.
DAQMAN’S BETS (each staked to win 20 points, unless stated)
BET 8pts win ATTY PERSSE (2.40 Sandown) and 4pts win (stakes saver) ZEFFERINO (3.15 Sandown) plus 1pt win double the two.
BET 11pts win (nap) YORKER (3.50 Sandown)
BULL’S-EYE BETS (to win 50): 8pts win FOLSOM BLUE and 7pts win LORD SCOUNDREL (4.10 Listowel)
BET 4pts win and place LIMONATA (5.30 Sandown)
£25 IN FREE BETS
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