Taking place in early July each year, the Sandown spectacular of the Coral-Eclipse Stakes provides fans with a first opportunity to see the Classic generation lock horns with the best of the older horses over the 1m2f trip. That selling point never fails to provide a layer of intrigue to the lucrative £750,000 (2024) contest. In receipt of a 10lb weight for age allowance, will the 2000 Guineas and Derby contenders prove up to the task? Or will the classy elder statesmen fend them off?
Always a key summer target for the most talented middle-distance stars in the game, the Coral-Eclipse boasts a spectacular roll of honour. To name just a few, that includes Brigadier Gerard, Mill Reef, Dancing Brave, and Enable.
Amongst the trainers, Alec Taylor Jr. set an early benchmark, with six wins between 1909 and 1923 – later joined by Sir Michael Stoute, who bagged his sixth win in 2017. However, as in so many British Group 1 events, Taylor and Stoute have now been overtaken by a certain Ballydoyle trainer. First successful with the Iron Horse, Giant’s Causeway, in 2000, O’Brien moved out on his own when winning the race for a seventh time with Paddington in 2023.
As the betting markets predicted, seven became eight in 2024 as Epsom Derby hero City Of Troy brought home the win, having trading at a general price of 4/11 prior to the race.
City of Troy now has their hooves set on the Breeders’ Cup Classic later in the year. A success in that US contest would represent a first for Aidan O’Brien and earn a permanent place in racing legend for the son of US Triple Crown winner Justify.
Here we look back at the exploits of O’Brien’s previous Coral-Eclipse winning stars in full:
Giant’s Causeway (2000)
- Sire – Storm Cat
- Age – Three
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Prix de la Salamandre (1999), St. James’s Palace Stakes (2000)
Finishing in the first two in all 12 career starts – including eight wins – Giant’s Causeway was as tough as the rocky formation from which he took his name. Edging out Kalanisi in a classic edition of the Coral-Eclipse, he followed up in the Sussex Stakes, Juddmonte International, and Irish Champion Stakes before ending his career with a neck second to Tiznow in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Hawk Wing (2002)
- Sire – Woodman
- Age – Three
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – National Stakes (2001)
Hawk Wing isn’t remembered for his consistency in quite the same manner as Giant’s Causeway – likely due to three odds on defeats – but he wasn’t too far off it. Outside the first two in only two of 12 outings, he bounced back from runner-up efforts in the 2000 Guineas and Derby to claim this prize. Failing to land a blow when seventh in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic, his finest hour came with a jaw-dropping 11-length romp in the 2003 Lockinge Stakes.
Oratorio (2005)
- Sire – Danehill
- Age – Three
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (2004)
Beaten in the 2000 Guineas, Irish 2000 Guineas, Derby, and St. James’s Palace Stakes, Oratorio was beginning to run out of chances to claim a Group 1 as a three-year-old. However, he got there in the end, when charging home late to grab Derby conqueror Motivator here, before confirming that form in the Irish Champion Stakes. His Breeders’ Cup Classic outing didn’t go to plan as he trailed home 11th of 13.
Mount Nelson (2008)
- Sire – Rock Of Gibraltar
- Age – Four
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Criterium International (2006)
A hugely exciting prospect during his debut season, Mount Nelson’s Classic campaign was derailed by injury. It took a long time to get him back, but O’Brien’s perseverance paid off at Sandown, with Mount Nelson coming with a relentless late run to score by a short head. That was to be his final success, with his only subsequent outing seeing him finish third in the Arlington Million.
So You Think (2011)
- Sire – High Chaparral
- Age – Four
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Cox Plate (2009 & 2010), Underwood Stakes (2010), Yalumba Stakes (2010), Mackinnon Stakes (2010), Tattersalls Gold Cup (2011)
Formerly based with Australian handler Bart Cummings, So You Think was an established superstar when relocating to the O’Brien yard in 2011. Having won his first two outings in Ireland, the strapping colt disappointed at odds of 4/11 in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes but bounced back to fend off 2010 Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe champ Workforce in this contest. Further Group 1 victories followed in the Irish Champion Stakes (2011), Tattersalls Gold Cup (2012), and Prince Of Wales’s Stakes – taking his career tally to 10.
St Mark’s Basilica (2021)
- Sire – Siyouni
- Age – Three
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Dewhurst Stakes (2020), Poule d’Essai des Poulins (2021), Prix du Jockey Club (2021)
A little slow to come to the boil during his two-year-old season, St. Mark’s Basilica saved the best till last with a first Group 1 win in the Dewhurst Stakes. At three, he proved unstoppable – claiming two French Classics, as well as this event and then rounding things off with a victory in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Paddington (2023)
- Sire – Siyouni
- Age – Three
- Pre Coral-Eclipse Group 1 Wins – Irish 2000 Guineas (2023), St. James’s Palace Stakes (2023)
Sharing a sire with St Marks Basilica, Paddington had only a maiden success to show for his juvenile campaign. He soon made up for lost time. Having seen off star mare Emily Upjohn in this race, he claimed the last of his four career Group 1s in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
