← Honest Record · Pick Winner · Mr Fox

SIS Supporting Irish Racing Beginners Steeplechase

16:50 Gowran Park Sat 03 Oct 2026 2m4f0y Good 12 runners

View the racecard →

Mr Fox’s call

I Started A Joke silks

I Started A Joke

SPECULATIVE Advised 11/4 Est. 32%

Mr Fox says

I Started A Joke (SR:132, 11/4) is the highest-rated horse in the field that the market is actively backing — a 21% market shortening is a meaningful signal in a 12-runner beginners' chase where stable form can be opaque. His SR of 132 is the joint-highest in the field alongside nothing else above 129 that has market confidence, and at 11/4 he is reasonably priced given that edge. The form string 41233- shows consistent finishing and progressive chasing experience, and trainer C Byrnes at 12% with Philip Byrnes (11%) is a functional yard that doesn't load up a beginners' chase without a live chance. The absence of DistFit and GoingFit data is a minor concern but shared across most of the field, making it a neutral factor rather than a negative. Each-way alternative: Forty Coats. Main danger: Arcadian Emperor — Arcadian Emperor (SR:124) carries DistFit:+ — the only runner with a confirmed proven distance record — and is the Mullins yard's #1 by virtue of Harry Cobden booking, but the 15% drift and a 172-day absence with tongue-tie first applied means I Started A Joke is preferred; if Arcadian Emperor returns fit, that DistFit:+ edge over 2m4f on good ground is a genuine threat.

Verify· #21298

Full result

Winner: Sir Allen (GB) at SP 18/1. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

  1. 1 Sir Allen silks Sir Allen A. Slattery · Cian Quirke 16/1
  2. 2 Arcadian Emperor silks Arcadian Emperor Fox #3 W. P. Mullins · Harry Cobden 13/8
  3. 3 Daydream Nation silks Daydream Nation William Harvey · Ben Harvey 20/1
  4. 4 Leni's Law silks Leni's Law Liz Doyle · Sean Flanagan 80/1
  5. 5 Siege Of Carthage silks Siege Of Carthage Josh Halley · Phillip Enright 18/1
  6. — Bon Viveur silks Bon Viveur Fox #4 W. P. Mullins · Paul Townend 5/2
  7. — Champagne Jury silks Champagne Jury Gavin Cromwell · Keith Donoghue 22/1
  8. — Forty Coats silks Forty Coats Fox #2 Henry de Bromhead · Darragh O'Keeffe 11/4
  9. — Good Option silks Good Option Gavin Cromwell · Kieren Buckley SP
  10. — I Started A Joke silks I Started A Joke Fox #1 C Byrnes · Philip Byrnes 11/4
  11. — Lemmy Caution silks Lemmy Caution Gordon Elliott · Jack Kennedy 16/1
  12. — Mullaghgloss silks Mullaghgloss A. Slattery · Philip Donovan 33/1

Top 4 — how each finished

  1. 1 I Started A Joke silks I Started A Joke 11/4
  2. 2 Forty Coats silks Forty Coats 7/2
  3. 3 Arcadian Emperor silks Arcadian Emperor 5/2 🥈 2ND
  4. 4 Bon Viveur silks Bon Viveur 7/2