Celebrate With Sponsorship At Southwell Racecourse Handicap Stakes

17:35 Southwell (AW) Mon 31 Aug 2026 6f16y Class 6 Good 14 runners

Mr Fox’s call

Taaklam

SPECULATIVE Advised 7/2 SP 100/30 Est. 32%

🏆 WON

Mr Fox says

Taaklam (SR:70, 7/2) leads the field on Saturday Rating alongside Surgeon Commander, but the decisive edge is the extraordinary market move — steaming in 47% from opening prices, the sharpest move in the race by a wide margin. Trainer Harriet Bethell runs at a 16% strike rate and jockey Tom Kiely-Marshall has course form (W0P1 at Southwell). The form string -32576 shows a horse that has been competitive at this class level, and running off the same class with DistFit:~ and GoingFit:~ confirms no fitness or conditions concern. Against that, Surgeon Commander (SR:69, 3/1) has drifted a massive 26% — the market is clearly against it despite its top-of-field SR and Billy Loughnane booking — and Based (SR:68, 4/1) has a DistFit:- flag at 6f which is a meaningful concern given the data has enough evidence to say so. Each-way alternative: Lope Y Linda. Main danger: Based — Based (SR:68, 4/1) has steamed in 19% with Cieren Fallon booked — a top jockey for this level — and the 4lb weight advantage over Taaklam could offset the DistFit:- concern if the horse adapts to the shorter trip today.

Verify· #15333

Full result

Winner: Taaklam (IRE) at SP 100/30. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.