DAQMAN on Sunday

Sunday 14 March DAQMAN  CUP DOUBLE FOR DAQMAN: Daqman who nominated first and second in the Grand Military Gold Cup on Friday (Scots Dragoon won 3-1 and River Indus 2nd 22-1) picked first and third in yesterday’s Imperial Cup (Qaspal won 11-4 and Pepe Simo 3rd 7-2). BACK-AND-LAY BEAUTIES: He also followed up Friday’s back-and-lay success by tipping long-time leaders Empty Sky and Emperor Concerto at 25.0 and 26.0 in the Sandown opener. There’s one at 28.0 today. GOLD CUP VALUE: With Cheltenham two days away, Daqman goes through the runners for the Gold Cup and finds that, without exception, a Betdaq bet is best. CHELTENHAM STOPS AND STARTS: Look out tomorrow, as he reveals the stats and facts that may stop you backing losers and kick start a winning festival week. The rest are out of sight!  So sang Dominic Behan of the legendary 1964 Cheltenham Gold Cup battle as Pat Taaffe on Arkle, the Irish pretender, came to challenge England’s champion, Mill House, and this year’s race also has the look of a duel with no prisoners taken. ‘Look about you Willie Robinson and what are you about?' Arkle was an awesome scythe and Mill House’s jockey could only watch as he was cut down by the greatest jumps horse in modern history. Kauto Star and Denman have role-played that famous ride in the last two Gold Cups with honours even, and the winner of what could be their final conflict on Friday will take the Arkle mantle. Albertas Run (66-1 with bookies and 100.0 on the Daq) 11 wins from 25 starts, including the 2008 RSA on good to soft. Most wins on good ground but has never quite matched up to that day of glory and remains a ‘nearly horse’ after being beaten eight lengths by Kauto Star in that year’s King George and only 9th to the same horse in last year’s Gold Cup. Calgary Bay (66-1, 100-1 and 114.0) Lightly raced and his three wins from 16 attempts were all on good or good-to-soft going but his 10th in last year’s Arkle doesn’t look good enough for a place in this, and I mean the race not the finishing frame. Casey Jones (100-1 and 174.0) Six out of 20, on all types of going, went into some notebooks when finishing last year’s RSA like a train up the hill behind Cooldine but was probably passing sleeping cars tired from the journey. Carruthers (40-1, 50-1 and 70.0) Placed 10 times (six wins) from 13 starts and, though only fourth in the RSA in 2009, slammed Big Fella Thanks 23 lengths at the turn of the year; the going was heavy that day and he’s disappointed as favourite back at Cheltenham again since. It says something about his chances that his only good ground success was at Fakenham. Cooldine (9-1, 10-1 and 11.5) A 50% record from 20 starts, mainly preferring plenty of cut in the ground, though he stayed on strongly up the hill on good to soft to put 16 long lengths of daylight between himself and last year’s RSA field. Cool enough but you’re unlikely to dine out on the returns from a place bet. Denman (7-2, 4-1 and 5.6) 15 out of 20 and only twice out of the frame, including the infamous day when he disposed of the champion jockey at Newbury. Not something A.P. McCoy forgets in a hurry and he’ll want to be boss this time. It was good to soft when he beat Kauto Star in the 2008 Gold Cup and it was good to soft when he was beaten by him last year. This is probably the final conflict and when Harry Findlay goes quiet the omens are not good. Imperial Commander (9-1, 10-1 and 11.5) His seven wins from 16 starts have been mainly on a decent surface and he’s won four out of five at Cheltenham including the 2009 Ryanair. Raised gold hopes by running Kauto Star to a nose at Haydock but a total of 136 lengths in rear of that one in two King Georges. Likely to get an imperial leathering again. Kauto Star (4-6 and 1.78) £2m in prizemoney from 20 wins and nine places in 33 starts including, literally, gold after gold. But it’s that silver in between, when Denman beat him, that stops him going down in racing lore as a Golden Miller or an Arkle. Only defeat of Denman with both at their best will see him cast in bronze in the Cheltenham arena. Mon Mome (100.0 and 124.0) Festival runs have seen him second in the Kim Muir, fourth then sixth in the William Hill Trophy. He won an extended 3m chase at Cheltenham in the December before winning the Grand National the following April. That’s not a tip for Mon Mome on Friday but a tip for The Package in the Grand National; he won the same Cheltenham race last December. My Will (66-1, 100-1 and 102.0) Only eight wins from 36 starts and was there ever more frustration for an owner than this one’s third in a Betfred Gold Cup, fifth in a Hennessy, fifth in the Cheltenham Gold and third in a Grand National. He just lacks the will to win. Tricky Trickster (16-1 and 22.0) Just a novice (four wins out of nine) when Denman blundered away the Aon to him. Wins on all surfaces and only once out of the first two. He’s the one with the potential to improve but it will take at least two horses to gift him this one. What A Friend (14-1, 25-1 and 29.0) Another potential improver, unexposed with only 11 races on his CV – won six – but 30 lengths behind Cooldine in last year’s RSA and his second to Denman in the Hennessy was when in receipt of 22lb from the winner. However, a line from that through Niche Market makes him a 9lb better horse than Tricky Trickster yet he’s at bigger odds.   TODAY'S BETS BET 3pts win SAMURAI WAY (2.20 Towcester) LAY to win 4pts DOUBLE PRIDE and BET 4pts win PRESENT TO YOU (2.30 Warwick) BET 1pt win and place DHU LOCH (2.50 Towcester, back at 28.0 and lay at single figures) BET 3pts win MAURISCA (5.10 Market Rasen)
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