Good Morning!
Welcome to a new post here at zoelouisesmithx.com! Ahead of today’s renewal let’s take a look back at the history of the Eclipse Stakes.
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat race which is ran at Sandown Park in Great Britain. It is ran over 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards and is open to horses aged 3 or older. It takes place in July each year. It was first ran in 1886. In 2020 the race was worth £250,000 with the winner receiving £141,775.
The first winner of the race in 1886 was Bendigo who was 6 years old. Tom Cannon Sr was riding for trainer Charles Jousiffe and owner H. T. Barclay.
Both the 1892 and 1893 contests were won by Orme. In 1892 at 3 years old for jockey Georg Barrett and in 1893 at 4 years old for jockey Morny Cannon. Both times the trainer was John Porter and the owner was the 1st Duke of Westminster.
In 1897 and 1900 the Prince of Wales won the race. Firstly in 1897 with Persimmon who was 4 years old with John Watts riding and Richard Marsh training. Then in 1900 with Diamond Jubilee who was 3 years old with Herbert Jones riding and Richard Marsh training again.
In 1910 there was a dead heat called. Here Lemberg who was 3 years old for Bernard Dillon, Alec Taylor Jr and Alfred W. Cox and Neil Gow, also 3 years old, for Danny Maher, Percy Peck and the 5th Earl of Rosebery both claimed the win.
Now skipping forward a few years, in 1951 Lester Piggott won the race on board 3 year old Mystery for Percy Carter and Mme Edward Esmond. He won again in 1955 on board 4 year old Darius for Harry Wragg and Sir Percy Loraine. Again in 1957 on board 3 year old Arctic Explorer for Noel Murless and Giles Loder.
In 1965 Queen Elizabeth II had a winner in the race when her 4 year old horse Canisbay won with Stan Clayton on board for trainer Cecil Boyd-Rochfort.
In 1976 Trepan finished first, however after being disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance, the race was awarded to 3 year old Wollow who was ridden by Gianfranco Dettori for Henry Cecil and Carlo d’Alessio
Skipping forward quite a few years, in 1995 and 1996 Halling won the race. In 1995 at 4 years old for jockey Walter Swinburn and in 1996 at 5 years old for jockey John Reid. Both times for Saeed bin Suroor and Godolphin.
Moving into the new millennium sees Aidan O’Brien win the race for the first time with 3 year old Giant’s Causeway under George Duffield for owners Magnier / Tabor.
In 2007, Notnowcato at 5 years old won for Ryan Moore, Sir Michael Stoute and A. & D. de Rothschild.
At 4 years old, Nathaniel won the race in 2012 for William Buick, John Gosden and Lady Rothschild. With Golden Horn winning at 3 years old in 2015 for Frankie Dettori, John Gosden and Anthony Oppenheimer.
In 2018 Oisin Murphy won the race on board 3 year old Roaring Lion for John Gosden and Qatar Racing. Followed in 2019 by Enable at 5 years old for Frankie Dettori, John Gosden and Khalid Abdullah. With the latest winner in 2020 being 5 year old Ghaiyyath for William Buick, Charlie Appleby and Godolphin. – To note in 2020 due to alterations due to the COVID 19 Pandemic, 3 year olds were excluded from the race.
Onto some records in the race, starting with the most successful horses. These all have 2 wins in the race: Orme in 1892 & 1893, Buchan in 1919 & 1920, Polyphontes in 1924 & 1925, Mtoto in 1987 & 1988 and Halling in 1995 & 1996.
The leading jockey is Lester Piggott who won the race 7 times: Mystery IX in 1951, Darius in 1955, Arctic Explorer in 1957, St Paddy in 1961, Pieces of Eight in 1966, Wolver Hollow in 1969 and Artaius in 1977.
We have two leading trainers, both with 6 wins each. Alec Taylor Jr with: Bayardo in 1909, Lemberg in 1910 (deadheat), Buchan in 1919 & 1920, Craig an Eran in 1921 and Saltash in 1923. And Sir Michael Stoute with: Opera House in 1993, Ezzoud in 1994, Pilsudski in 1996, Medicean in 2001, Notnowcato in 2007 and Ulysses in 2017.
The leading owner with 6 wins is Godolphin: Halling in 1995 & 1996, Daylami in 1998, Refuse to Bend in 2004, Hawkbill in 2016 and Ghaiyyath in 2020.
So onto this years renewal, it is a very small field but a very talented field. (All odds are correct on Ladbrokes at time of writing this post 8:30pm on 02/07/2021).
The current favourite is the 6/4 shot Mishriff for John & Thady Gosden with David Egan riding. Last time out was on the 27th of March when winning by only a neck at Meydan over 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 11 yards. The time out before that was at Riyadh when winning the Saudi Cup by 1 length on February 20th. In both runs he was ridden by David Egan so it’s nice to see David be given the opportunity to take the reins on home soil.
The next horse in the line up is currently 13/8, St Mark’s Basilica for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore. Another very talented horse, he’s won the French Guineas and French Derby double. This is only the second time Ryan Moore has been on board, the first time being on September 13th last year at the Curragh over 7 furlongs when they finished 3rd. Also interesting to note that he is the only horse who has never won over this distance, unlike the other 3.
The third in the list is Addeybb who is currently 11/4 for Tom Marquand and William Haggas. He is actually the only horse who has won over both course and distance which may be something to note – he has also won 4 Group 1 races. Another thing to note is that he is 7 years old and no 7 year old has ever won this race before. Since the 21st of March 2020 Tom Marquand is the only jockey to have rode this horse, so clearly they know each other very well, since then they have won 5 out of the 7 races they’ve had, finishing 2nd in the other 2.
The final horse in the line up is a 25/1 shot El Drama for Andrea Atzeni and Roger Varian. He has won over this distance previously, however last time out in the French Derby he was less than impressive when finishing 15th out of 19 horses. He is quite an unexperienced horse with only 5 runs under his belt, winning twice, placing 3rd twice and 15th in the French Derby. However in these colours, we’ve seen Andrea Atzeni enter the winners enclosure many many times so would it really be that much of a surprise?
All in all, I would love to see Mishriff win for David Egan – that is what my heart is saying. However I am going with St Mark’s Basilica for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore. He has been pretty impressive the last twice we’ve seen him this year, both times winning by a length and 3 quarters. All in all, I think any of the 4 could win, it wouldn’t surprise me whoever wins. Who do you fancy? Let me know over on Twitter!
Thank you so much for reading this post and I will see you all Wednesday evening at 6pm for a brand new one!
zoelouisesmithx 