FOLLOW THAT NAP WITH FIGHTING BETDAQ VALUE: Daqman landed his nap, Without A Fight (WON 1-1) yesterday, but it’s a tough scrap all day round the Goodwood bends and the hill-climb finish, with a conundrum draw. He sides with the market for his nap, a plunge horse in the 1.45 and, while he ducks the Goodwood Cup at impossible prices, he finds huge BETDAQ value at 15.5, 20.0 and 28.0, and several 10-1 bets.
Headlines
🔹 GET A POSITION IN THE RODEO RIDE
🔹 IT’S NO POTTER FOR BATTLEGROUND
🔹 HAZZARD HOT ON QUEEN ANNE FORM
🔹 AIDAN AND GOLIATH IN CUP CLASH
🔹 KEANE ON A DREAM SWITCH AT 11.0
GET A POSITION IN THE RODEO RIDE
⭕ 1.45 Goodwood Mark Johnston used to dominate this meeting and this was one of the races he called his own (three wins 2012-16).
Early money for this went on Cape Cavalli, Derevo, Tinandali and one of two Johnston runners, Maydanny, for which Silvestre De Sousa has been booked.
The runner-up to Maydanny at Yarmouth has franked the form twice and, despite a 10lb rise, Maydanny was leading until a furlong out in the Silver Royal Hunt Cup. This is two furlongs further but his family, including his half-brother Elarqam, have pattern form at today’s trip. He doesn’t have to lead and De Sousa’s job is to suffer the concertina effect from the one stall, but stay with the pace somehow.
On the other hand, rear-runner Bell Rock’s rider, champion Oisin Murphy, drawn 4, will have to extricate himself from the rail and get across late for his run.
Oisin! Check out the 2018 race where the winner from gate 3 was ‘squeezed out; dropped to rear; held up in touch; switched left’.
Red October, another who likes to lead, is drawn 15, thrown out wide at the start; he’ll want to try to get in, and find the pace, which will help squeeze that concertina. This Goodwood is for rodeo riders, isn’t it!
Most winners come from stalls 9 to 17, where Cape Cavalli will line up. He is a CD winner at a lower level and, in the neighbouring stall, Derevo has won over further but needing long breaks between races, a fragile horse.
Tinandali has run some decent races already this month but there’s not been inspired money for him since he was hiked a stone for winning at Navan last June for Dermot Weld.
Tinandali was fifth when the third in the John Smiths Cup was Fifth Position (stall 10 today). Seemingly unlucky when short of room two out, but probably found his own misfortune, as he is now blinkered first time.
Blinkers are a useful tool in this Goodwood melee and I can just see him galloping up the final hill under in-form Andrea Atzeni. I grabbed BETDAQ 10.0 as Fifth Position offers were taken up from 12.5 in to 9.1 this morning.
IT’S NO POTTER FOR BATTLEGROUND
⭕ 2.15 Goodwood (Vintage Stakes) I was impressed with Found’s first foal, Battleground, in the Chesham but he has to come on from the colt who beat a narrow class-4 winner next time and a tail-swisher in third.
Aidan O’Brien ignored this race until winning it twice (2014-16) including with Highland Reel. Before that it was a Hannon preserve and last year Pinatubo raised the roof.
It will be a quiet Goodwood this time but never so quiet as when a dual winner, son of Nijinsky, called Gorytus flopped in the Dewhurst at Newmarket. The crowd was dumbfounded. The colt was never the same again, almost certainly doped.
Strange to see another Gorytus in the Vintage today, and we wish him well. But more likely threats to Battleground are Dark Lion and Painless Potter, fourth and fifth in the Coventry, both sure to enjoy the extra furlong.
Painless Potter at BETDAQ offers of 20.0 early mouse was the perfect stakes cover for my 20-point Fortune Cookies bet on Battleground. I’ll have an RF with Corals or Ladbrokes.
HAZZARD HOT ON QUEEN ANNE FORM
⭕ 2.45 Goodwood (Lennox Stakes) Sir Dancealot is an old friend of Fortune Cookies and David Elsworth an old friend of mine from Desert Orchid days, when I bought the publicity rights to his training in a contract directly with the horse! That way I hit the headlines before Dessie did..
But even a friend may get merely ‘hard luck’ mumbles instead of warm greetings when they’ve had the kind of bad luck David’s had this year. I won’t go into it all here but, with Dancealot reunited with his own best friend, jockey Gerald Mosse, I shall be riding a finish in my office chair if they can land a Lennox hat-trick.
A tiny bit of luck has already broken through, with the draw. Dancelot is in 3, having won the last two years out of 4 and then 2, each time enjoying the rails advantage but having to overcome the pocket and switch left to pounce. The plan as before, then Gerald.
Except that last year’s Jersey Stakes runner-up, Space Blues, has 7f figures of 112211 and Safe Voyage has only a neck to make up on their one-two at Haydock.
But, if you’re talking form figures, put Duke Of Hazard in pole position, with Goodwood returns of 111, including the Ladbrokes Celebration Mile (Group 2). Perfectly primed for this with third in the Ascot Summer Mile earlier this month.
He needs a strong pace but the hill will play to his stamina, while it may cost Pierre Lapin (6f Mill Reef winner), who ran a stinker on his comeback. Graignes was also a flop first run back. A wind op may have helped but he’s won only his maiden, always a bad sign.
D’bai, who did us a favour at Haydock, aims high here, but Marie’s Diamond could win it on his third in the Queen Anne (Duke Of Hazzard behind).
I backed the Queen Anne form, taking 7.9 Duke Of Hazzard and 15.5 Marie’s Diamond on BETDAQ. If Sir Dancealot wins, I’ll be cheering just as loudly.
AIDAN AND GOLIATH IN CUP CLASH
⭕ 3.15 Goodwood (Goodwood Cup) Daqman form guide in ratings order.
125 STRADIVARIUS The first three-year-old to win this since 1990, he has gone on to a hat-trick in the race and, like stablemate Enable, seems to get better than ever with age.
Has won this off official ratings of 100, 118 and 120 consecutively, yet has edged even higher after taking five different cups in a row last year and trotting up 10 lengths in the Ascot Gold Cup in June, also for the third year running.
115 SANTIAGO (130 equivalent with three-year-olds allowance). Has had only five races, winning the last three, the Queens Vase off 94 and then his first Group 1, the Irish Derby at the Curragh.
The Curragh third has won his maiden since and the fourth colt home, Order Of Australia, was then seventh in the French Derby; nothing very uplifting.
So, much depends on whether Santiago improves for today’s 2m. I thought he had a pronounced action at the Curragh, pounding the ground quite high and hard, suggesting soft surfaces would help, but in that – and in the pedigree- there is no obvious sign of wanting a trip.
115 NAYEF ROAD Gordon Stakes winner at this meeting last year, and won the Sagaro Stakes on his return. Not headed until final furlong of 2m 4f (soft) Ascot Gold Cup when a cruising Stradivarius went by.
111 EAGLES BY DAY Struck form when stepped up to 14 furlongs at York just 10 days back. Related to a Gold Cup placer and a long-distance hurdles winner, ‘he will stay all day,’ says trainer David O’Meara.
110 SPANISH MISSION Third to Nayef Road in the Gordon Stakes here a year ago, had beaten that one on the July Course (1m 5f) earlier. Back to form, though always held, runner-up in the Henry 11 Stakes at Sandown (2m) early last month.
107 WHO DARES WINS Graded hurdler (rated 151) and closing down on that over fences (147), was thereabouts in the Prix Du Cadran and Cesarewitch last autumn after winning the Northumberland Plate in the summer. Back to form over extreme distance of the Queen Alexandra at Royal Ascot in June.
100 EUCHEN GLEN Took a year off after winning the 2018 John Smith’s Cup at York and second in the Northumberland Plate, but only sixth in the same York race recently.
Verdict Aidan O’Brien tries to cash in on the three-year-old allowance before it’s reduced but you’re having to bet 2-1 Santiago stays against a giant in the arena; it’s Aidan and Goliath! Probably another match race but I’ll dabble with 28.0 Nayef Road to be in the fighting line and grab prizemoney for second at 5.4 the place.
KEANE ON A DREAM SWITCH AT 11.0
⭕ 6.45 Galway Saltonstall is rated 7lb higher than when winning this race last year under Colin Keane but Gavin Ryan claims 5lb off him today.
Keane switches to Helvic Dream (BETDAQ 11.0) , a three-year-old already beaten when tackling older horses but that was a 1m 4f Listed on heavy the last day. Colin rode him first run back at today’s trip and was keen to go for this.
Stalls 4 to 10 won this seven years running (2011-17). That’s where you’ll find the favourite, Tauran Shaman, but they’re piling on the aids – cheekpieces added to tongue tie – and that’s a turn-off for me.
Big Baby Bull has been hit with a 10lb rise and On A Session’s price has been trampled on by the Pricewise lemmings.
So I’ll have my other pound on the old master of Galway, Dermot Weld, with Georgeville (BETDAQ 12.0 taken). Just when they thought it safe to go into the betting sea without him, Weld took two bites of the prizemoney here yesterday with a 44-1 double.
DAQMAN BETS
1.45 Goodwood (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE NAP: 6pts win FIFTH POSITION
2.15 Goodwood (FORTUNE COOKIE and saver win 20)
BET 20pts win BATTLEGROUND
BET 1pt win PAINLESS POTTER
2.45 Goodwood (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 7pts win DUKE OF HAZZARD
BULL’S-EYE BET 3.5pts win MARIE’S DIAMOND
3.15 Goodwood (win 30, win 10 place)
BET 1.25pts win and 2.25pts place NAYEF ROAD
6.45 Galway (win 50)
BULL’S-EYE BET 5pts win HELVIC DREAM
BULL’S-EYE BET 4.5pts win GEORGEVILLE
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