Friday 20 November
DAQMAN
DAQMAN DOES IT AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN! Daqman got his lay up for the 300th time yesterday. And then another one. And another nap.
46 OUT OF 57: Bid Art (2nd) and Deep Quest (unplaced) took his recent successful lays tally to 46 out of 57 (for an 80% strike rate), which includes 13 in a row in the autumn. His record is 16 consecutive.
NOW IT’S TWO FOR 100 NAPS: Daqman yesterday napped Eleanora Duse with the advice that ‘she’s much better than she’s shown so far.’ Eleanora Duse (won 6-4, driven clear) was his 98th winning nap or banker bet.
LONG WEEKEND OF WINNERS: Look out in the next three days at Ascot, Aintree and Haydock, a long weekend of big-winner-finding which includes the Ascot Hurdle and the Becher Chase.
There’s No Panic to reach my 100 winning naps but the eponymous Paul Nicholls runner should help me land another lay in the opener at Exeter. I can’t have Song Sung Blue.
The Tizzards are in great form and the syndicate Singing And Dancing Racing deserves a win for their enterprising name but Song Sung Blue has some awful warning signs on his CV and, in his octet of starts, has been placed too often, at least once when he should have won.
He’s tried 2m 1f and he’s tried 2m 4f, and the reports include ‘hung left run-in’, ‘not fluent’ and ‘tailed off’. He doesn’t seem to learn much, yet he’s paper favourite.
On my side, I have the highly-regarded There’s No Panic (1.05), with Ruby Walsh taking over after that one and Christian Williams fluffed their lines first time over hurdles. ‘Panic’ is reported as ‘flying at home.’
I also have Tony McCoy on Four Strong Winds, with Jonjo’s horses coming on a bundle for their initial starts though Nicholls has won this three times from eight tries, and Walsh has a 46% strike rate at Exeter.
Walsh v. McCoy doesn’t happen again on the card but Ruby could turn over another Tizzard runner when Forest Pennant (1.40) meets Flight Leader, once good enough to be third in the Cleeve Hurdle.
Forest Pennant is a ‘natural’ over the bigger obstacles at home, according to my man in the long grass, and will be very hard to beat, though I’m sure Ruby will also be keeping an eye on Rhys Flint and Mark The Book, since Philip Hobbs wins with six out of 10 of his novice-chase runners on the course, including two winners and two placed from seven attempts in this race.
I can’t have Forest Pennant at 4-5; neither can I lay him. I think that’s called a quandary. But I shall dig in on something else and hope to get revised offers later on, and in-running, and create myself a margin.
The Tizzards have obviously laid out Pass Me A Dime (2.50) for a repeat in the Taunton Chase but it’s three years since he won it and there were only four runners that day.
The shape of the race should suit back-and-lay ‘mousers’, with plenty of front-running types, not least Laustra Bad, likely to be lit up by blinkers for the first time after a lack-Laustra run at Leicester (‘never travelling’).
Of Jonjo’s pair, Signatory is a ‘glass’ horse and Forty-Five is described by the trainer as ‘hyper at home’. With a wary eye on the Hobbs’ horse, Pavillon Bleu, I’m taking Green Belt Elite to be upwardly mobile now that he’s been switched to fences.
Ascot is tricky, not least because the first three races are ‘novices’, ‘beginners’ and ‘introductory’. It’s even trickier for me, since the going is good but rain is forecast: hold your bets until you hear something about the track from the commentators and jockeys.
Gary Moore is keen on Vino Griego (2.05); memories of the good old days when he won the last on this day three times with the likes of Rob Leach and Stormy Skye.
If this one’s to be in that mould, he has to beat Manyriverstocross in receipt of 5lb. My man says that ‘Rivers’ – the only ride of the day for Choc Thornton - is ‘expected,’ as confirmed by offers on the table as I write: 1.61 Manyriverstocross, 4.8 Vino Griego; anything you like bar two.
I’m always in for a pound at 7-2 when the betting says it’s a two-horse race but that’s when it becomes tricky on this particular day: the signs are that ‘Vino’ needs the rain, and I’ve no way of knowing whether he’ll get it.
All I can do is follow my own advice: dig in, and start my own book, dealing again as the market revises with circumstances and trading, betting and laying to fix myself a profit margin.
It’s sometimes hard work. It’s a thing where you have to keep your nerve and do a bit of maths. It’s called Betdaq betting. Get involved in a race and try it.
Haar! I spy another lay. Andy Turnell had a great winning run and has now gone quiet; that’s his style. Haar (2.40) was unlucky at Ludlow in the Spring –and got a 7lb rise to boot – but he’s always been a ‘nearly’ horse since he won his maiden.
Two things could turn the race in his favour: that blasted rain (he’s a Selkirk) and a potentially suicidal pace: there are three front-runners in the race. But, even given those chances, will he take them?
And, given those potential changes in circumstance, you – the hungry ‘mouser’ – can bet with the changes. In fact, right up to the moment when Haar decides whether or not to ‘put it in’.
Haar looks sure to trade better in running, as those front-runners try to cut each other down to size. A lay and bet, if ever I saw one. But my brief is to declare myself – and at SP, at that – so I’ve no choice but to charge a lay to this column’s account.
What’s going to win? Now you want jam on it: well it may not be far enough for Double Dizzy and too far for Go Silver Bullet. Psychomodo is the principal ‘psycho’ front-runner, while ex-Irish Island Life may need to acclimatize.
I would say, from this distance, my bet would have to be a horse who’s not ground dependent, returns to his optimum trip and should be ready after a recent outing on this very track: Royal Wedding. He’ll be held up, so could also be a better exchange for your money in running.
You’ll know by 3.50 whether the rain has ruined the chances of Mutual Friend and Zabeel Dancer. Since they are currently the first two in the market, you can oppose them now and catch up on the situation later; it’s that sort of day, as I’ve said.
Before any rain, I’d want a bit each way (at 8.8 this morning) on improving lightweight, Sunsetten; with any rain, I’d want a bit more!
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