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Your Elite Club Handicap Stakes

13:30 Bath Thu 08 Oct 2026 2m1f24y Class 6 Good 13 runners

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Mr Fox’s call

Merrijig silks

Merrijig

SPECULATIVE Advised 4/1 Est. 28%

8TH

Mr Fox says

Merrijig (SR:68, 4/1) holds the highest Saturday Rating in the field and arrives dropping a class with a mark 2lb below his last win, providing genuine handicap leverage. The standout signal is a 34% market shortening — the strongest steam in the race by some margin — on a horse wearing blinkers for the first time, a combination that typically denotes connections believe the headgear will unlock improvement. Jockey Gina Mangan (11% career SR) is a competent booking at this level, and at 2m1f on good ground the moderate distance and going records (~) are not damning — they simply reflect a light sample rather than proven unsuitability. Fram Castle (SR:67) is the closest rival on ability but carries a poor GoingFit:- and a MarkMv:+3, meaning it runs off a higher mark than when last winning, blunting its claims despite course form. Each-way alternative: Fram Castle. Main danger: Al's River — Al's River (SR:66, 9/2) has steamed in 31% in the market — second only to Merrijig — with a top-tier jockey booking in Jack Mitchell (16% career strike rate) and a light weight of 9-2, giving it every chance to outrun its moderate going record on a potentially drying surface.

Verify· #22128

Full result

Winner: Pacific Storm (FR) at SP 4/1. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

  1. 1 Pacific Storm silks Pacific Storm David Menuisier · Jack Dace(5) 7/2
  2. 2 Calshot Spit silks Calshot Spit Sheena West · Charles Bishop 5/1
  3. 3 Individualiste silks Individualiste Ben Lund · Rose Dawes(3) 17/2
  4. 4 Star of Jupiter silks Star of Jupiter Mark Loughnane · Paddy Bradley 7/1
  5. 5 Buck Barrow silks Buck Barrow Fox #4 Adrian Wintle · George Wood 17/2
  6. 6 Smith silks Smith Lydia Richards · Robert Havlin 25/1
  7. 7 Cherry Cola silks Cherry Cola Sheena West · Tyler Heard 18/1
  8. 8 Merrijig silks Merrijig Fox #1 John Berry · Gina Mangan 4/1
  9. 9 Chillhi silks Chillhi Barry Murphy · David Probert 66/1
  10. 10 Nature silks Nature Miss Celine De La Haye · Laura Coughlan(3) 66/1
  11. 11 Al's River silks Al's River Fox #3 James Horton · Jack Mitchell 9/2
  12. — Forest Hills silks Forest Hills Carroll Gray · Oliver Carmichael(7) 40/1
  13. — Fram Castle silks Fram Castle Fox #2 Michael Wigham · Taryn Langley(5) 5/2

Top 4 — how each finished

  1. 1 Merrijig silks Merrijig 4/1 8TH
  2. 2 Fram Castle silks Fram Castle 5/2
  3. 3 Al's River silks Al's River 9/2 11TH
  4. 4 Buck Barrow silks Buck Barrow 15/2 5TH