Kevin Blake's Coral-Eclipse Day tips

Published 11.55 03/07

The Coral-Eclipse card at Sandown on Saturday is one of the mid-summer highlights of the season. While the main event has been struggling to attract runner numbers in recent years, Aidan O’Brien has come to the rescue of it this year by running two exciting three-year-olds that spice it up in no uncertain terms. The supporting card features an array of competitive contests, and I’ll do my best to pull a winner or two from the day

The Coral Charge (1:50) has attracted a fascinating mix of young and older contenders and it is one from the former bunch that makes most appeal in the shape of the Charlie Appleby-trained WORDS OF TRUTH. 

The three-year-old son of Lope De Vega first came to prominence when lowering the colours of Into The Sky in the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury last September. He suffered an unexpected defeat at odds-on on his seasonal return at Meydan, but he showed that to be all wrong when making a winning return to Britain in the Scurry Stakes over this course and distance last month. 

On that occasion he was delivered with a strong late challenge and had enough in hand to get away with jumping a path inside the final furlong and see off Lady Zoumzain by a length. His draw is fine and with Charlie Appleby seeming to be grinding into better form, he could well prevail in this contest.

The Coral Distaff (3:00) is another really interesting stakes race and the one I’m taking a chance on is the Andrew Balding-trained PACIFIC MISSION. The daughter of Lope De Vega proved to be rapidly progressive as a juvenile, finishing second in both the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf. 

She made just an adequate return to action when finishing in mid-division in the Sky Bet Fillies’ Stakes at York after which she was pitched in against older horses in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom. She can be forgiven finishing a well-held third to Sparks Fly that day, as the ground was on the soft side and she may not have raced on the best part of the track. Now that she returns to a sounder surface against her own age group, it wouldn’t surprise to see her bounce back to form and run a big race.

The Coral-Eclipse (3:35) is the main event of the day and with it having looked in danger of being a disappointing renewal, Aidan O’Brien has added a serious dose of intrigue by running the 1-2 from the Prix du Jockey Club, Constitution River and HAWK MOUNTAIN.

There is likely to be a huge amount of chat about tactics, with Aidan O’Brien running Flushing Meadows and Harry Charlton saddling King’s Gambit, with both of them being assumed to be pace makers. Mind, neither of them are particularly good fits for that job. 

King’s Gambit has primarily been a hold-up performer for the last couple of years and has been a bit slow to start in all three of his outings this year, so it would be dangerous to assume he’ll be able to make a significant contribution to the run of the race. Similarly, Flushing Meadows has generally been held up this season and took an age to get just prominent after a sluggish start when seemingly in the Dee Stakes as a pacemaker. So, it is worth keeping an open mind about how the early stages of this race might look.

Interestingly, all three of the main protagonists are capable of getting at least prominent. Constitution River has made the running multiple times and has that as an option. Gethin seems comfortable racing prominently. Hawk Mountain made the running on his successful return to action at Chantilly, but looked lairy in front and it wasn’t a surprise to see him look for a lead in the Prix du Jockey Club. He is likely to do similar here.

All that considered, this isn’t an easy race to map. Much like the St James’s Palace Stakes, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it looks completely different after a furlong than is widely expected. The Prix du Jockey Club form appeals as being the best form on show and with the weight-for-age scale being particularly kind to the younger generation at this time of year, those representing that form are favoured.

 Constitution River obviously appeals as being a potential star, but he is priced accordingly. At the prices, I feel a case can be made for Hawk Mountain. He ran huge in the Prix du Jockey Club and reapplied cheekpieces replacing blinkers appeals as being a positive move as he raced a little more freely than ideal in blinkers on his latest start. He is well drawn and seems likely to follow up whatever leads. It wouldn’t surprise if he made a bold bid.