Ombudsman to put the rest in the shade in Eclipse
Has won five of his six starts and his defeat of a host of top-class performers in a Group 1 at Royal Ascot makes him the horse to beat here. William Buick stays on.
2 Sosie
Has class and a great temperament, winning ParisLongchamp Group 1s on both starts this season. Versatile in terms of trip. Chance.
3 Camille Pissarro
Continued improved performances, latterly when landing the French Derby at Chantilly making up ground fast in the straight.
4 Delacroix
Two decisive 2,000m Group 3 victories at Leopardstown resulted in him being favourite for the Derby at Epsom. Nothing went right for him there.
5 Hotazhell
A Group 1-winning 2yo and third in a 1,600m Group 1 Irish Classic in May. Looks to have trained on but not proven at this trip and facing fierce opposition.
6 Ruling Court
He was a tough Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner but then struggled against the impressive Field Of Gold up the straight in a Royal Ascot Group 1. Up in trip and now facing classy older horses.
Comments courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
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Derby redemption for Delacroix in Eclipse thriller
SANDOWN Top-class jockey Ryan Moore produced Delacroix to deny Ombudsman right on the line in the £1 million (S$1.74 million) Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes (2,000m) at Sandown on July 5. Prepared by Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien, the Dubawi three-year-old colt put a line through his last-start disappointing effort in the Group 1 Epsom Derby (2,400m) on June 7 - when he finished ninth to stablemate Lambourn - to beat the favourite Ombudsman by a neck. Improvement was expected to come from Delacroix, who won two Leopardstown Group 3 races over 2,000m this season in impressive fashion, in the small field of six. A good pointer was Moore sticking to Delacroix despite his last-start flop. But those who were still in his corner must have felt their faith was misplaced when Delacroix was shuffled back to last despite jumping on terms to settle in third behind Sosie (Maxime Guyon) and Hotazhell (Shane Foley) in the early stages. As soon as Godolphin's two leading fancies, Group 1 2000 Guineas (1,600m) winner Ruling Court (Oisin Murphy) and Royal Ascot scorer Ombudsman (William Buick) rushed forward, Delacroix suddenly found himself at the tail, with stablemate Camille Pissarro (Christophe Soumillon) for company. Into the home straight, Sosie hung on strongly on the rails but he was no match for the challengers. Both Ombudsman and Camille Pissarro made rapid ground, with the former hitting the front 200m out, but out from the rear, it was Delacroix who came throwing down the gauntlet. As he got into the clear, the $26 shot hunted down Ombudsman to go and snatch his maiden Group 1 win in the shadows of the post. The Charlie Appleby-trained Ruling Court took third, with O'Brien's Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) winner Camille Pissarro in fourth. Moore, a four-time Longines World's Best Jockey, had to call on all his artistry in the saddle to pull his mount to the outside and nab Ombudsman in the dying strides. "It wasn't the first, second or third plan, as no one really wanted to make it," said Moore. "William (Buick on Ombudsman) got first run on me, but he's a very good horse with a mighty turn of foot. "They went steady for this class of horse, but his turn of foot made the difference." Moore has won five Eclipse Stakes and combined with O'Brien on four of them. His last three victories atop StMark's Basilica (2021), Paddington (2023) and CityofTroy (2024) were also prepared by the master trainer. He won with Notnowcato in the 2007 Eclipse Stakes for the now-retired legendary trainer Sir Michael Stoute. AFP
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4 days ago
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Ombudsman to put the rest in the shade in Eclipse
1 Ombudsman Has won five of his six starts and his defeat of a host of top-class performers in a Group 1 at Royal Ascot makes him the horse to beat here. William Buick stays on. 2 Sosie Has class and a great temperament, winning ParisLongchamp Group 1s on both starts this season. Versatile in terms of trip. Chance. 3 Camille Pissarro Continued improved performances, latterly when landing the French Derby at Chantilly making up ground fast in the straight. 4 Delacroix Two decisive 2,000m Group 3 victories at Leopardstown resulted in him being favourite for the Derby at Epsom. Nothing went right for him there. 5 Hotazhell A Group 1-winning 2yo and third in a 1,600m Group 1 Irish Classic in May. Looks to have trained on but not proven at this trip and facing fierce opposition. 6 Ruling Court He was a tough Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner but then struggled against the impressive Field Of Gold up the straight in a Royal Ascot Group 1. Up in trip and now facing classy older horses. Comments courtesy of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
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4 days ago
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Old guard firm up in Sandown classic
SANDOWN The £1 million (S$1.7 million)Coral-Eclipse Stakes (2,000m) is named after one of the greatest racehorses of the 18th century, and one who reportedly had to walk more than 2,000km to compete in races around Britain. Since those far-off days, this Group 1 event has had a long history of attracting world class equine talents, and again that is the case at Sandown Park on July 5. A potent mix of generations includes three-year-old Group 1 Classic winners Ruling Court (2000 Guineas, 1,600m) at Newmarket and Camille Pissarro, last month's Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) victor over 2,100m at Chantilly. The latter will be partneredatSandown by Christophe Soumillon with Ryan Moore staying loyal to fellow Aidan O'Brien-trained contender Delacroix, who was disappointing when a beaten favourite in theGroup 1 Epsom Derby (2,400m). Though Epsom "also-rans" do not have a great record in the Eclipse, clearly much better is expected of the twice impressive Leopardstown Group 3 winner over 2,000m this season. Three-year-olds are on a roll in the Eclipse Stakes, having landed the last fourrunnings, but the older horses look formidable this year with Ombudsman catapulted to favouritism after his superb winning display in what looked a strong renewal of last month's Group 1 Princeof Wales's Stakes (2,000m) at Royal Ascot. The Godolphin colt appeared to be having a nightmare trip there, but when a gap appeared his change of gear was instantaneous. His jockey William Buick sent an ominous warning after the son of Night Of Thunder captured his fifth win in six starts. "He was an unknown quantity coming into Ascot but he was impressive there, very impressive," said Buick. "He has low miles on the clock and I think that was a taste of what is to come." It is a fast turnaround (17 days) between runs, a reason why the Princeof Wales's Stakes-Eclipse Stakes double is rarely achieved. However, Ombudsman's joint-trainer Thady Gosden remains upbeat. "Obviously it is very tight and you'd rather give them longer. But he hasn't had a hard season," said Gosden who trains in partnership with his father John. "He hasn't had a hard career really, so we thought why not see if he'd be ready for a race like this." The other older star in the six-horse field is the Andre Fabre-trained Sosie. The Sea The Stars six-year-old was ridden by Maxime Guyon in all six of his career wins, a tally that includes two stylish Group 1 ParisLongchamp victories this season, latterly when his acceleration proved decisive in the Prix d'Ispahan (1,800m) in May. Fabre has not had an Eclipse Stakes contender for 20 years and although the Chantilly-based maestro has described Sosie as "more of a mile-and-a-half horse" those two eye-catching 2025 victories have come over trips nearer to this one, while the uphill straight at Sandown Park places an obvious premium on stamina. Sosie is surely a very serious threat to all if he handles likely faster ground at Sandown. HKJC
