Old guard firm up in Sandown classic
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
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