FRENCH ST LEGER VALUE BET: How good is Cracksman? Can Aidan O’Brien’s run continue at Leopardstown today? What will win the French St Leger? Daqman tries to answer these questions as he squares up to Pricewise at Saint-Cloud, leading 82-21, and 313 points clear, in their value challenge.


CHAMPION? I STILL CHOOSE ENABLE

Come on, my son! At last Frankel can be proud of Cracksman, who ran away with the Champion Stakes yesterday, but where does that leave us?

First thought is that world racing has superstars like never before in Enable, Cracksman and Winx and the dollars and petrol dollars will surely flow to get them together next year.

Never before? I had a restless night, trying to remember the last stable to house TWO giants in one season, as John Gosden has. Or has he?

We must see Cracksman again to be absolutely sure about him. I would still back Enable to beat him at this stage, even though the Racing Post has raised Cracksman into the stratosphere at their 131 (Enable only 128 but his equal on sex allowance).

We’ll see what the official handicapper makes of him. Though Cracksman has clearly moved magnificently forward, he should remember the Derbys which have to be demoted with hindsight.

Both English and Irish Derbys in which Cracksman was placed were both modest this year, with the Irish Derby winner 17 of 18 behind Enable in the Arc and the Epsom ‘hero’ vanquished at The Curragh and his runner-up failing even to place since.

In most cases the horses Cracksman hammered yesterday had not been specially trained for the race, as he had (in order to swerve Enable in the Arc) and the time was slow in soft-heavy ground.

In any ordinary assessment for future betting purposes, we would suspect any animal that wins in the mud by a mile.

My own champions day was poor. I got the stats right but closer attention to the form would have revealed the chances of Librisa Breeze (good spot, Pricewise) and Persuasive.

I am continuing the Pricewise challenge until next Sunday with two solid days Flat racing left next weekend.

How on earth do they manage to end the season on a champions’ day, with presentations to the season’s leading owner, trainer and jockey, and then keep going to Doncaster..?


GROUNDS FOR TIPPING INTIMATION

2.45 Saint-Cloud Mainly sunny with a few showers this afternoon on the good-to-soft overnight going estimate.

That sounds like definite chances for Company Asset (Kevin Ryan) and Intimation (Sir Michael Stoute) to break into Group 3, both having won on soft and heavy ground.

The likely favourite, Freddy Head’s Listen In, had to drop to Listed level to score after a bridesmaid sequence of 3222 in the Pattern, and the one that beat her in the Prix Royallieu let the form down at Ascot yesterday.

Intimation has also won at Listed level, and the pair have the best of the draw, together in adjacent stalls, 1 and 2.

3.25 Saint-Cloud (Prix Royal Oak) Vazirabad goes for a hat-trick in this French St Leger. He’s already beaten Mille Et Mille in the Cadran and Holdthasigreen in the Gladiateur, but without showing his old sparkle.

Montaly has had his best year, winning the Chester Cup and the Lonsdale Cup, but is six now, and Ice Breeze gave notice that he can make his mark in the staying ranks by winning a Group 2, stepped up to this kind of trip for the first time on the last day of September.

Brandon Castle has landed five out of six, shrewdly placed at class-4 level by Archite Watson but this is a huge step up in class. He’s a stone behind Montaly in the ratings.


BYE BYE TO O’BRIEN OPPOSITION

3.30 Leopardstown Aidan O’Brien has his 25 Group-1 wins, but we’ve lost count of the lower-level Group successes, to which could be added this Kilavullan Stakes with Bye Bye Baby, Dramatically or Kenya.

He’s won it three times since 2007 and this blanket attack should smother the opposition, though a line through Gasta suggests that Guessthebill could go close and he has bags of experience.

McMunigal is close up in the betting but the one he beat at Naas was from Ballydoyle.

I’ll side with Bye Bye Baby, who could make all the running. Her maiden win at Newmarket was boosted when the runner-up took a Group 3.

4.00 Leopardstown This Trigo Stakes is only a Listed but always seems to attract some famous names, including Famous Name, who won it three times.

Three-year-olds are currently on a four-timer, and guess who’s got three of the five second-season animals running today? It’s not O’Brien’s race normally but, then again, he’s only had one (outsider) in it in the last three seasons.

Today’s Ballydoyle trio are dogs, too. Bound is a maiden (but still managed to finish in front of Longing at Naas recently) and Finn McCool, once thought of as a Derby horse, was well behind Grandee in the summer.

Cannonball comes out narrowly best on the ratings, and was the ‘moral’ when, giving weight, he was just outgunned at Limerick (Glamorous Approach behind). Stable in form.

DAQMAN’S BETS (staked to win 20 points)
BET 10pts win JUMPING JACK (2.10 Kempton)
BET 5pts win INTIMATION (2.45 Saint-Cloud)
BET 4pts win NEW AGENDA (3.15 Kempton)
BET 5pts win ICE BREEZE (3.25 Saint-Cloud)
BET 10pts win (nap) BYE BYE BABY (3.30 Leopardstown)
BET 10pts win CANNONBALL (4.00 Leopardstown)


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