← Honest Record · Pick Winner · Mr Fox

Paul Ferguson's Jumpers To Follow Novices' Hurdle Race (GBB Race)

14:16 Stratford Mon 05 Oct 2026 2m0f70y Class 4 Good to Firm 6 runners

Mr Fox’s call

Arcturus Flame silks

Arcturus Flame

SPECULATIVE Advised 7/4 Est. 42%

5TH

Mr Fox says

Arcturus Flame (SR:156, 7/4) is the standout on ability — a 32-point SR gap over the next-best Red Metal (SR:152) and a massive 32-point gap over the field's joint-third tier. The sole career start returned a win, GoingFit:+ confirms the good-to-firm ground suits, and at 5lb lighter than the favourite Square d'Alboni (11-6 vs 11-11) the weight advantage is real. James Owen (19% strike rate, 2,250 runners) and Jonathan Burke are a competent partnership, and the tongue-tie suggests connections know how to present this horse. The market (7/4) is rational here given the SR lead. Each-way alternative: Square d'Alboni. Main danger: Square d'Alboni — Square d'Alboni (SR:124, 6/5 favourite) holds Course:W1P1 at Stratford, DistFit:+, is trained by the in-form Dan Skelton/Harry Skelton combination (22%/26% strike rates), and drops two class tiers — local course knowledge and a powerful yard can compensate for the SR gap, and the market clearly has it as the safer conveyance despite the lower rating.

Full result

Winner: Red Metal (FR) at SP 7/2. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

  1. 1 Red Metal silks Red Metal Fox #3 Henrietta C Knight · Brendan Powell 4/1
  2. 2 Prince Vinny silks Prince Vinny Emma Lavelle · Ben Jones 16/1
  3. 3 Square d'Alboni silks Square d'Alboni Fox #2 Dan Skelton · Harry Skelton 13/8
  4. 4 Drumstick silks Drumstick Fergal O'Brien · Jack Hogan 80/1
  5. 5 Arcturus Flame silks Arcturus Flame Fox #1 James Owen · Jonathan Burke 6/5
  6. 6 Lady of The Isles silks Lady of The Isles Sarah-Jayne Davies · James Best 150/1

Top 4 — how each finished

  1. 1 Arcturus Flame silks Arcturus Flame 7/4 5TH
  2. 2 Square d'Alboni silks Square d'Alboni 6/5 🥉 3RD
  3. 3 Red Metal silks Red Metal 4/1 SP 7/2 🏆 WON