BOYLE Sports Handicap (Div II)

15:01 Thurles Thu 08 Oct 2026 1m69y Good 17 runners

Mr Fox’s call

Duchess Anne

SPECULATIVE Advised 11/4 Est. 22%

10TH

Mr Fox says

Duchess Anne leads the field on SR (55, tied with Princess Chloe) but carries a favourable 8-13 — the lightest of the top-rated horses — giving her a meaningful weight edge over Queen Aethelflaed (10-2) and Desert Swing (10-2). Her form reads 6-4282, showing consistent placed efforts and a recent second, demonstrating she is in a competitive groove. Trainer Mrs Denise Foster runs at 10% and the apprentice Orla Tynan claims 7lb, further relieving the weight burden in a wide-open 17-runner handicap. While her DistFit:- and GoingFit:- are noted concerns, almost the entire field shares these negatives on today's good ground at Thurles, so it becomes a relative non-issue rather than a differentiating factor. Each-way alternative: Glamazon. Main danger: Glamazon — Glamazon (SR:59, the field's highest rating, 5/1) carries only 9-13 for trainer Paul Flynn and jockey Leigh Roche, and if the 6lb mark reduction (MarkMv:-6) unlocks latent ability shown in her form, she has the raw SR to win despite the going and distance concerns shared across the field.

Verify· #22173

Full result

Winner: Tariff (IRE) at SP 8/1. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.