DAQMAN on Sunday

Sunday 7 September SEVEN OUT OF SIX: Daqman does the impossible again. The weather cut his betting down to one meeting yesterday but he got seven winning returns from six races, including four winners. He opened Kempton with a one-two, Elnawin (won 6-4) and Square Eddie (2nd 9-1), and his forecast was spot on again with Premio Loco (won 2-1) and Cape Hawk (2nd 11-1). He landed two more winners, Ethaara (won 2-1) and Armure (won 9-2), which, like Mourilyan (3rd 12-1), is charged to the account at the minimum each-way stake, and all are returned at SP though his placed horses were named at 14.5, 13.5 and 12.5 on Betdaq in the morning. Turf racing is back but it’s back to front and all very Irish: it’s Champion Stakes Saturday on a Sunday at Leopardstown to save a rematch between Duke Of Marmalade and New Approach which won’t take place. And, if you are still with me, try this: the Turf Club, which abandoned the card yesterday, insist that the ground from which Duke Of Marmalade has defected because it’s heavy is, in fact, yielding. Whatever we do – tipster, layer, backer – we’re up against it until races are run and we know for sure: it’s neck on the block time at my distance from the field and hour of play, and I’m laying the odds-on favourite New Approach. We have watched Finsceal Beo deteriorate with racing and her stable-companion didn’t look at all himself only a fortnight ago and you begin to see tell-tale signs in his temperament, as recorded by the Racing Post race-readers. Comments in the form listed in today’s edition include the following damning words and phrases about New Approach: “ jockey used whip with excessive frequency”, “pulled hard”, “wandered”, “pulled hard” (again) and “hung right.” This is not the profile of a champion, or of any bet I would care to place, more one of an animal that is not in love with his sport. Multidimensional and Mores Wells have won on heavy but I reckon they’re Group-3 winners, or Group 2 placers at best, so my money’s on King Of Rome. He’s just come to himself, won a Group 2 in the mud last time out and is now the Ballydoyle banker for this million-euro race. He was well behind New Approach in the Epsom Derby but that’s beginning to look like New Approach’s swan-song: so many winners of that race subsequently have a sequence of Gordon Brown days at the office. I pinched some 6-1 trades about King Of Rome as the market resettled, and 5-1 or 6-1 is good value each-way in an eight-horse race for an O’Brien number-one on a hat-trick mission. Nanotech and Maundy Money (3.15) have leapt four places in the exchanges to take over favouritism of the September Handicap. Nanotech has weight pulls with Impossible Dream and others, but is difficult to win with and, despite the softer terrain, Maundy Money may cope with a further rise in the handicap. French Derby runner-up Famous Name (2.10) should have no problem with the ground or his opponents and I’m buying money. His stablemate, Carefree Smile (1.40) should only have to confirm Curragh form with Baliyana to take the opener. In my opinion, Lush Lashes and Halfway To Heaven were a more closely matched clash in the filliies’ and mares’ Group 1 than were Duke Of Marmalade and New Approach. But it’s a shocker for punters: the best form you have is on a sound surface. Carribean Sunset, Lady Gloria and Psalm have winning form on soft ground but at Group-3 level not Group 1. Jim Bolger has consistently avoided heavy with Lush Lashes and Aidan O’Brien describes the ground as ‘far from ideal for Listen’. Because Johnny Murtagh’s in France for Henrythenavigator’s Prux Du Moulin bid, Seamie Heffernan gets the ride on Halfway to Heaven and she ‘might’ (sic) be OK with the ground. Not very encouraging for punters, is it? I’m inclined to try to catch Nahoodh in a co-operative mood: Mark Johnston believes that testing ground won’t bother her and I’d love to see Mick Kinane on a Group-1 winner. Lush Lashes was tailed off on heavy at the start of the season and, from a professional betting point of view, you just have to lay her if it is found to be soft-heavy or heavy despite the Turf Club protestations. I can’t do much about it from this distance, so have to leave it to your discretion, and can only charge the lay to the account based on the returned official going. At Thirsk, La Chicaluna (2.00) has not been out of the first two when there’s cut in the ground; she has not been suited to 7f recently and is today reunited with her winning jockey, Paul Hanagan. Bolin Felix and Squirtle (4.00) appear to have the two-miler between them on several counts: form, conditions and a stack of old horses of plodder status (half the field is between the ages of seven and 10); only one of those has a win to his name unless you go back two seasons or more. Squirtle, twice a winner over course and distance, is quite a catch at a 7.6 Betdaq trade as I write and I’ll take some insurance on Bollin Felix. Tempsford (3.10 Fontwell) could score in a cat-and-mouse finish with Tony McCoy pouncing on the front-runner, Follow Your Heart: they should have it between them since the top of the handicap consists of near-novices and the bottom of horses aged 10 and 12 with no speed for this sound surface.
TODAY'S BETS
BET 3pts win CAREFREE SMILE (1.40 Leopardstown) BET 1pt win and place LA CHICALUNA (2.00 Thirsk) BANKER 10pts win FAMOUS NAME (2.10 Leopardstown) LAY to win 10pts if ground is soft-heavy or heavy LUSH LASHES, and 1pt win and 1pt place NAHOODH (2.40 Leopardstown) BET 5pts win TEMPSFORD (3.10 Fontwell) BET 3pts win MAUNDY MONEY (3.15 Leopardstown) LAY to win 10pts NEW APPROACH and 5pts each-way banker KING OF ROME (3.50 Leopardstown) BET 3pts win SQUIRTLE and 2pts win BOLLIN FELIX (4.00 Thirsk)
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