Christmas Parties At Newcastle Racecourse Nursery Handicap Stakes

15:45 Newcastle (AW) Wed 02 Sep 2026 6f1y Class 6 Good 11 runners

Mr Fox’s call

Secret Rival

SPECULATIVE Advised 4/1 Est. 22%

5TH

Mr Fox says

Secret Rival (SR:59, 4/1) shares the highest SR in the field alongside River Jordan but carries the same weight (9-8) with a market that has shortened 12% — money coming in on a horse managed by Ed Walker (15% strike rate, 876 runners) with experienced jockey Kieran Shoemark aboard. The drop of one class (ClassMv:↓1) from a yard that places horses carefully adds further appeal. Form of 8677 may look modest but in a Class 6 nursery where the entire field shows DistFit:- and GoingFit:?, relative SR and market confidence become the primary differentiators, and Secret Rival wins both those battles. Each-way alternative: River Jordan. Main danger: River Jordan — River Jordan matches Secret Rival on SR:59, drops two classes (ClassMv:↓2), has lighter weight at 9-6, carries Jason Hart (14% strike rate, 1,364 career rides) and has shortened 10% in the market, making it the Phillip Makin yard's obvious number-one runner over stablemate Liveadream.

Verify· #15591

Full result

Winner: Bladey Lady (IRE) at SP 28/1. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

1 Bladey Lady Tim Easterby · Duran Fentiman 18/1
2 Claret Time Nigel Tinkler · Alex Jary(3) 13/2
3 Yorkshire Dream Fox #4 Ben Haslam · Andrew Mullen 10/1
4 Eevee Star Edward Bethell · P J McDonald 12/1
5 Secret Rival Fox #1 Ed Walker · Kieran Shoemark 4/1
6 River Jordan Fox #2 Phillip Makin · Jason Hart 9/2
7 Liveadream Phillip Makin · Conor Whiteley(5) 11/1
8 Waiting For Archie Richard & Peter Fahey · Barry McHugh 12/1
9 Kaiulani Spirit Tim Easterby · Oisin McSweeney 28/1
10 Profitability Fox #3 Craig Lidster · Tom Eaves 9/2
11 Johns Power Roger Fell · Joanna Mason 8/1

Top 4 — how each finished

1 Secret Rival 4/1 5TH
2 River Jordan 5/1 6TH
3 Profitability 4/1 10TH
4 Yorkshire Dream 11/1 🥉 3RD