McEnery Cup Handicap

16:22 Gowran Park Wed 12 Aug 2026 1m4f100y Good to Firm 11 runners

Mr Fox’s call

War Rooms

SPECULATIVE Advised 4/1 Est. 30%

Mr Fox says

War Rooms (SR:92, 4/1) is the highest-rated horse in the field and carries only 9-3, giving it a weight advantage over top-weight Dallas Star (10-0, SR:83) while still being the class act. The decisive signal is the 27% market move inward — significant money has come for this horse since opening, a strong indicator of stable confidence. Colin Keane (16% career strike rate, 1015 runners) is one of Ireland's premier jockeys and his booking amplifies the case. The form figure '1' last time out — off a mark 6lb higher — shows the horse is in winning form right now, and a tongue-tie retained from that win points to a stable that knows what works. Each-way alternative: Navy Waters. Main danger: Fixation — Fixation (SR:90, 9/2) is second in the SR rankings, carries only 9-4, and Ben Coen's 12% strike rate over 675 runners gives it serious professional backing — the mild 5% drift is the only concern in an otherwise credible profile.

Verify· #11983

Full result

Winner: Fixation (IRE) at SP 9/4F. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

1 Fixation Fox #2 J P Murtagh · Ben Coen 3/1
2 Star Harbour Adrian McGuinness · Declan McDonogh 14/1
3 Navy Waters Fox #3 W McCreery · W J Lee 7/2
4 Obscenity Joseph Patrick O'Brien · Dylan Browne McMonagle 9/2
5 Dallas Star Robson De Aguiar · Donagh O'Connor 12/1
6 Ephesus Denis Gerard Hogan · Jared Huggan(10) 66/1
7 Sea Coral Mrs John Harrington · Keithen Kennedy(5) 14/1
8 Daboya R Donohoe · Reese Holohan(7) 17/2
— Royal Hollow Andrew Slattery · Andrew Slattery -
— Marazion Fox #4 Mrs John Harrington · Shane Foley -
— War Rooms Fox #1 Gerard Keane · Colin Keane 7/2

Top 4 — how each finished

1 War Rooms 4/1
2 Fixation 9/2 SP 9/4F 🏆 WON
3 Navy Waters 9/2 🥉 3RD
4 Marazion 7/1