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San Miguel Handicap Stakes

16:05 Ayr Thu 08 Oct 2026 0m7f50y Class 5 Heavy 10 runners

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Mr Fox’s call

Empirestateofmind silks

Empirestateofmind

MEDIUM Advised 15/8 Est. 35%

🥈 2ND

Mr Fox says

Empirestateofmind (SR:89, 15/8, 9-11) is the standout on SR by a clear margin — 16 points clear of the next-best One Night Thunder (SR:74) — and that ability edge is backed by a compelling recent form string of 500121, showing two consecutive wins heading into today. Crucially, GoingFit:+ confirms the horse handles heavy ground, which is a decisive filter in a field where seven runners carry GoingFit:? and none other than Cisco Disco (SR:62) also show GoingFit:+. Jason Hart (14%, 2,730 career runs) is a high-quality booking, and the horse's three wins and four places at Ayr (Course:W3P4) make this a course specialist too. The weight of 9-11 is workable — not burdensome — and the mark is at the same level as the last win (MarkMv:=), so no penalty is being absorbed. Each-way alternative: One Night Thunder. Main danger: One Night Thunder — One Night Thunder (SR:74, 5/1) drops a class (ClassMv:↓1), has course form (W1P1), and carries the top weight of 10-1 which is manageable in this grade — the improving form string ending in a '1' last time out makes it the most credible threat at a fair price.

Verify· #22206

Full result

Winner: Stanage (GB) at SP 5/1. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

  1. 1 Stanage silks Stanage Michael & David Easterby · Billy Garritty 11/2
  2. 2 Empirestateofmind silks Empirestateofmind Fox #1 John & Sean Quinn · Jason Hart 15/8
  3. 3 Ashen silks Ashen Jim Goldie · Paul Mulrennan 15/2
  4. 4 Cisco Disco silks Cisco Disco Fox #3 R. Mike Smith · Cian Horgan(5) 14/1
  5. 5 Emery Down silks Emery Down John Ryan · Oisin Orr 11/1
  6. 6 One Night Thunder silks One Night Thunder Fox #2 Gemma Tutty · Rhys Elliott(5) 9/2
  7. 7 The Gay Blade silks The Gay Blade Iain Jardine · Jack Nicholls(3) 28/1
  8. 8 Tactical Plan silks Tactical Plan Ed Dunlop · Hector Crouch 20/1
  9. 9 Monsieur Kodi silks Monsieur Kodi Richard & Peter Fahey · Warren Fentiman(3) 33/1
  10. 10 Valentine Catcher silks Valentine Catcher Tim Easterby · David Allan 15/2

Top 4 — how each finished

  1. 1 Empirestateofmind silks Empirestateofmind 15/8 🥈 2ND
  2. 2 One Night Thunder silks One Night Thunder 5/1 6TH
  3. 3 Cisco Disco silks Cisco Disco 11/1 🏁 4TH