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Darley Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1)

15:00 Newmarket Sat 10 Oct 2026 0m7f0y Class 1 Good 30 runners

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Mr Fox’s call

Desert Castle silks

Desert Castle

SPECULATIVE Advised 8/13 Est. 42%

🥈 2ND

Mr Fox says

Desert Castle (SR 128) stands alone at the top of the ability range — a full 19 SR points clear of the next-best Darkness Falls (SR 109) and 8 points clear of Great Barrier Reef (SR 120). That gap on the SR scale represents a substantial class edge in a juvenile Group 1. The market agrees emphatically: 8/13 favourite with a Mkt:in8% steamer, confirming stable confidence behind Appleby's number-one runner, ridden by William Buick (25% career strike rate, 1,519 career rides — the premier book among all jockeys declared today). The form reads '11-' where the dash almost certainly represents a non-finish rather than a competitive loss, and Appleby's overall yard strike rate of 33% is the strongest of any trainer in the field. With every runner carrying the same 9-3 and identical age, weight provides no countervailing argument — this is a straight class and form verdict. Each-way alternative: Darkness Falls. Main danger: Darkness Falls — Darkness Falls (SR 109, 2/1) is the clear second-best-rated runner, carries Ryan Moore — the most decorated jockey in the field at 24% career strike rate — and shows GoingFit:+ on today's good ground, meaning the conditions actively suit it; if Desert Castle's form dash conceals a genuine issue, Moore and O'Brien's intended runner would be first to capitalise.

Verify· #22613

Full result

Winner: Darkness Falls (IRE) at SP 6/4. Mr Fox’s picks highlighted in gold.

  1. 1 Darkness Falls silks Darkness Falls Fox #2 Aidan O'Brien · Ryan Moore 15/8
  2. 2 Desert Castle silks Desert Castle Fox #1 Charlie Appleby · William Buick 8/11
  3. 3 Great Barrier Reef silks Great Barrier Reef Fox #3 Aidan O'Brien · W. M. Lordan 17/2
  4. 4 Gentle Hurricane silks Gentle Hurricane Andrew Balding · James Doyle 50/1
  5. 5 Jassas silks Jassas Charlie Appleby · Billy Loughnane 33/1
  6. — Aix La Chapelle silks Aix La Chapelle Aidan O'Brien
  7. — Alfred Wallace silks Alfred Wallace Ed Walker
  8. — Al Hudaiba silks Al Hudaiba Charlie Appleby
  9. — Dawnmore silks Dawnmore J S Bolger
  10. — First Law silks First Law Charlie Appleby
  11. — Florida Bay silks Florida Bay Aidan O'Brien
  12. — Folsom Blues silks Folsom Blues Fox #4 Joseph Patrick O'Brien
  13. — Giant Sequoia silks Giant Sequoia Aidan O'Brien
  14. — Inner City Blues silks Inner City Blues Charlie Appleby
  15. — Man's Best Friend silks Man's Best Friend Aidan O'Brien
  16. — Marco Polo silks Marco Polo Aidan O'Brien
  17. — Raging Bull silks Raging Bull Aidan O'Brien
  18. — Rock Montreal silks Rock Montreal Roger Varian
  19. — San Jose silks San Jose Brian Meehan
  20. — Zero Error silks Zero Error John & Thady Gosden
  21. — Push The Boat Out silks Push The Boat Out M D O'Callaghan
  22. — Rosberg silks Rosberg K. R. Burke
  23. — Sergei Diaghilev silks Sergei Diaghilev Aidan O'Brien
  24. — Shakespeare silks Shakespeare Aidan O'Brien
  25. — Sharadd silks Sharadd William Haggas
  26. — Confucius silks Confucius Aidan O'Brien
  27. — Haffner silks Haffner Aidan O'Brien
  28. — Monogram silks Monogram Joseph Patrick O'Brien
  29. — Wall Street silks Wall Street Aidan O'Brien
  30. — Great Balls O'Fire silks Great Balls O'Fire Richard Spencer

Top 4 — how each finished

  1. 1 Desert Castle silks Desert Castle 8/13 🥈 2ND
  2. 2 Darkness Falls silks Darkness Falls 2/1 SP 6/4 🏆 WON
  3. 3 Great Barrier Reef silks Great Barrier Reef 9/1 🥉 3RD
  4. 4 Folsom Blues silks Folsom Blues