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Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes (Group 2)
Mr Fox’s call
Christmas Day
SPECULATIVE Advised 9/4 Est. 32%
Mr Fox says
Christmas Day (SR 128, 9/4) is the highest-rated horse in the field and carries Ryan Moore — whose 27% career strike rate is comfortably the strongest jockey booking in the race, a signal A P O'Brien takes seriously when deploying three runners simultaneously. As the O'Brien yard's #1 (Moore invariably rides the yard's primary hope; Antigua gets Whelan at 8%, Pierre Bonnard gets Lordan at 10%), the market has also firmed 6% into the open price. The form string 1-1312 shows a horse that won its two most recent starts before this sequence and ran creditably at Group level in the 1312 pattern; at 9-7 it carries the same weight as Maltese Cross but holds a 4lb SR advantage over that rival. The MarkMv:+9 bump is a concern in a Group 2 but the Moore booking and inward market move indicate connections believe he's up to the task. Each-way alternative: Maltese Cross. Main danger: Maltese Cross — Maltese Cross (SR 124, 9/4) carries an identical 9-7 and has the most consistent recent form in the field with a 1-1121 string — four wins from five runs — though the 13% market drift is a genuine red flag that must be respected, possibly reflecting the 74-day absence or a question over today's trip.
Full result
Winner: Maltese Cross (FR) at SP 9/4. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.
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1
Maltese Cross Fox #2 9/4
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2
Pierre Bonnard Fox #3 11/4
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3
Christmas Day Fox #1 9/4
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4
Superior Choice Fox #4 6/1
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5
Galiyan 11/1
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6
Antigua 150/1
Top 4 — how each finished
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1
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2
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3
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4