Derby Horses Set The Pace For Sandown

Andy Newton looks at the winning numbers around the Coral Eclipse

- Andy Newton

2017 ECLIPSE STAKES

As we move into July, and the heart of the summer months, there is bundles more to look forward too. Yes, we’ve already seen four of the five English Classics, plus got through another Royal Ascot, but July is another bumper month of top-class Flat festivals.

The Newmarket July Festival and the King George Meeting at Ascot are always crackers, while over in Ireland we’ve got the Irish Oaks and Derby to take in, but the race I’m going to focus on in this edition is the Coral-Eclipse from Sandown.

This year’s race is run slightly later than normal (Sat July 8), which means the horses and trainers targeting the 1m2f Group One will have a little bit longer to prepare and that’s worth noting. It goes without saying that at the time of writing the final runners have not been confirmed, but nearer the race and once we do know the locked-in entries we’ll be able to apply several key trends.

It’s also a contest that gives us a chance to see just how good this season’s Classic generation are as the top-class middle distance 3 year-olds can run against the older horses for the first time at this level.

Over the last two years we’ve seen 3-year-olds win the race, but since 2006 (11 runnings) it’s worth noting that 8 winners have been aged 4 or 5.