PJ Towey Handicap Stakes (GBBPlus Race)

16:48 Doncaster Sat 12 Sep 2026 1m2f43y Class 2 Good 24 runners

Mr Fox’s call

Thunder Run

SPECULATIVE Advised 7/2 SP 11/4F Est. 28%

🏆 WON

Mr Fox says

Thunder Run (SR:109, 7/2) is the clear SR leader in this field by a margin of 6 points over the next-best City Of Poets (SR:103), and that ability edge is meaningfully reinforced by a 15% market move inward — the money is coming for this horse. Despite carrying top-weight at 9-12, the weight burden is manageable on good ground and the GoingFit:+ confirms proven effectiveness in these conditions. K.R. Burke fires at a solid 20% strike rate from 2,098 career runners — a trainer who does not waste market moves — and Clifford Lee at 17% is a competent booking. The form string (-72072) looks patchy on first read, but the ClassMv:= means this is a horse running at the same level where its ability has already been tested, and the SR of 109 dwarfs most of this field's workmanlike ratings. With City Of Poets unproven at this trip (DistFit:?) and stepping up a class tier, Thunder Run's combination of top SR, strong market move, and confirmed going preference makes it the most credible winner. Each-way alternative: Night Breeze. Main danger: City Of Poets — City Of Poets (SR:103, 15/2) has shortened 19% in the market, carries the James Tate yard's clear #1 signal with Rossa Ryan booked over the less experienced Tom Marquand on stablemate Flying Frontier, and posted a recent '394101' form string showing a last-time-out win — if the unproven trip (DistFit:?) turns out to suit, it can absorb the class rise (ClassMv:↑1) on the back of that momentum.

Verify· #17440

Full result

Winner: Thunder Run (IRE) at SP 11/4F. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.