DAQMAN IN THE ‘KNOW’ AT BANGOR: Goodtoknow, who will relish the conditions, and is stepped up to a trip more suited to his stamina, is napped by Daqman to take the featured chase at Bangor today, final meeting before Christmas.
LOOK OUT ON BOXING DAY: The Christmas fare at Kempton Park on Boxing Day includes the King George V1 Chase and the Christmas Hurdle. Daqman will also check out the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby and the Lincolnshire National at Market Rasen.
Bangor and mash today is the last dish before Christmas. And let’s hope it isn’t cold turkey for racing addicts at the Kempton Park King George meeting on Boxing Day with 12mm of rain forecast on the day, following regular outbreaks between now and then.
At least all meetings have so far survived without the dreaded ‘inspection’ notice, though Fontwell and Ffos Las are already flying the ‘heavy’ ground flag above what will be jumping through porridge.
The Bangor track today will be mashed to treacle, heavy all round if the forecast showers add to the morning’s soft-heavy assessment.
Tony McCoy’s only rides of the day are two for Rebecca Curtis, who must go back to the drawing-board with At Fishers Cross. But McCoy swerves her runner, Bob Keown, at 3.10.
Lightweights, best placed to handle mud, are the likely lads in this 3m hurdle (3.10), and the stable prefers to employ Paul O’Brien’s 10lb claim, clearly unhappy with the 98 rating allotted after defeats totalling 64 lengths in two hurdles starts so far.
Golden Calf must handicap on the 100 mark, despite having been beaten a total of 56 lengths in his two hurdles, starting 20-1 in both.
The explanation is, largely, that we are betting among the dross and can expect to see inconsistency and low levels of quality.
Not entirely true though of Night Of Passion, Artic Night, Genstone Trail and The Last Bridge. There is some consistency in their form, however lowly it is.
Genstone Trail is booted out of this short-list because he has a big weight – albeit claimed off – and because his performances are all on goodish ground. What he will do on soft-heavy is anybody’s guess.
Artic Night won at this level on a sound surface in September but, if you go back far enough (two years, in fact), he won on heavy at Carlisle.
Richard Johnson who has scored twice on The Last Bridge, including on heavy, describes the horse as from a family of ‘just stayers’ who can only win in poor company. He should be ready now to do just that, and is big at 9.8 on BETDAQ as I write.
The obvious danger to all is Night Of Passion, who tries to beat the handicapper, before the full value of last Monday’s 10-lengths Plumpton romp is added to his rating.
‘Improving all the time,’ says jockey Matt Griffiths but, of course, he’s unable to say – no one can until the race – whether the mare can put back-to-back wins together inside six days. With that doubt, I can’t bet at the 2.45 I saw on BETDAQ this morning.
And I could not understand the 6.4 about Radical Impact, unless I’m missing something. He’s out of the handicap, has never been placed and has lost his five starts by a total of 359 lengths, in a bumper and four hurdles.
I think his supporters are relying on his breeding, which tells us he is brother to RSA Chase winner, Cooldine, and that he could improve for today’s step up to 3m. He needs to. In spades.
Wayward Glance (1.10) another trying to defy the handicapper, with just a penalty for winning a week ago. He’s a five-year-old who should improve and has held his form well enough in the past, though with bigger gaps between races and with no more than 11st on his back when he’s won.
Goodtoknow. who gets a stone, has been within an ace of winning the last twice, is only five and relished testing ground when he scored at Towcester a year ago. His pedigree says this is his trip.
Samurai Way is handicapped up to 18lb below his old mark and made a satisfactory reappearance in November after 672 days off.
Allerton, absent for around a year, has done better than that since his return, staying on well on today’s course last time, given more than a month off to avoid the bounce factor, and expected to get this, his longest trip to date.
It’s always tricky to concede a penalty in novice events but what Going Concern (2.10) has over the even-money chance this morning, Classic Move, is victory already on very deep ground.
Classic Move ran well in a better race at Haydock but is a strong puller, which could be a disadvantage – as it was then – in a small field, though Theatrebar made all at Ludlow so could be a big help here.
DAQMAN’S BETS
BET 8pts win (nap) GOODTOKNOW and 2.5pts win (stakes saver) ALLERTON (1.10 Bangor)
BET 4pts win on each GOING CONCERN and (stakes saver) CLASSIC MOVE (2.10 Bangor)
BET 2.2pts win (Outsider Of The Day) THE LAST BRIDGE and 1.5pts win (stakes saver) NIGHT OF PASSION (3.10 Bangor)
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