Tag Archives: william buick

The History of the Eclipse Stakes

Posted in Horse Racing by

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!

Advertisement

Enable: What Makes a People’s Horse?

Posted in Horse Racing by

Good Evening!

Welcome to a new post here at zoelouisesmithx.com! Today’s post is another post in my What Makes a People’s Horse series and of course we had to look at the Queen that is Enable. After her retirement being confirmed in October 2020, the racing world shown an outpouring of love to her which is proof in itself that she is in fact a people’s horse, so let’s have a look back at her career to see just exactly why the world fell in love with her. Without further ado, let’s get right into it!

Enable was foaled on February 12th 2014 at Juddmonte Farms. She is by Nathaniel out of Concentric. With her Grandsire being Galileo and her Damsire being Sadler’s Wells (Galileo’s father) so all in all – she was destined to be an all time great coming from an incredible bloodline on both sides of her family.

Enable’s owner Khalid Abdullah sent her into training with John Gosden and her first race quickly approached at 2 years old on November 28th 2016 in a Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over 1 mile on the all weather track at Newcastle. She started at 7/2 under Robert Havlin and impressively won on debut by 3 and 3/4 lengths to Gallifrey (8/1) for Richard Kingscote and Lucy Wadham.

Enable then took a 144 day winter break and returned to the track on April 21st 2017, this time heading to Newbury for a Class 3 Stallions Conditions Stakes over 1 mile, 2 furlongs. This time she started at 5/1 with William Buick riding. However she could only manage a 3rd place behind the winner and stable mate for the same owner Shutter Speed at 5/4F for Frankie Dettori and in second place Raheen House (7/2) for Jimmy Fortune and Brian Meehan.

Just a couple of weeks later on May 10th 2017, Enable headed to Chester for a Class 1 Listed Race, the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks over 1 mile 3 and 1/3 furlongs. For the first time Frankie Dettori took the ride and 2/1 was their starting price. She ended up winning by 1 and 3/4 lengths to the Evens favourite Alluringly for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.

The next race for Enable was less than a month later and it was a big one. The Group 1 Investec Oaks at Epsom where under Frankie Dettori she was a 6/1 shot. Coming out of stall 9, she ended up winning quite impressively by 5 lengths to the odds on 8/11 favourite Rhododendron for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien once again.

Just over a month later on July 15th 2007 Enable headed over to Ireland and to the Curragh with her partner Frankie Dettori for the Group 1 Darley Irish Oaks. This time she started as the odds on 2/5 favourite and to nobodies surprise she won by 5 and 1/2 lengths to Rain Goddess (7/1) for Seamie Heffernan and Aidan O’Brien.

Exactly 2 weeks later on July 29th 2017, Enable headed to Ascot for the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes where she started as the 5/4 favourite with her now regular partner Frankie Dettori. Here she won again, this time by 4 and 1/2 lengths to Ulysses (9/1) for Jim Crowley and Sir Michael Stoute.

Next up for Enable would be the Group 1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York on August 24th, again starting as the odds on 1/4 favourite under Frankie Dettori. Here she beat her stable mate Coronet (16/1) for Olivier Peslier by 5 lengths.

Enable’s final run in 2017 came on October 1st when she headed over to France and to Chantilly for the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomph. Starting as the 10/11 favourite under Frankie Dettori, she was once again crowned the winner, this time beating Cloth Of Stars (20/1) for Mickael Barzalona and A Fabre by 2 and 1/2 lengths.

We then head into 2018 and in May of that year, it was announced that Enable had suffered a ‘training setback’ and she would not return until August at the earliest. So after a 342 day break, Enable’s much anticipated return finally happened when she headed to Kempton on September 8th for the Group 3 September Stakes. Although she had been off the track for the majority of a year she returned as the 8/15 favourite with her regular partner Frankie Dettori. She ended up winning by 3 and 1/2 lengths to Crystal Ocean (6/4) for David Probert and Sir Michael Stoute.

A month later on October 7th, she headed back to France, this time to Longchamp for the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. This time as the Evens favourite, again with Frankie Dettori riding, this time winning by just a short neck to Sea Of Class (6/1) for James Doyle and William Haggas.

We then head into November and on the 3rd of the month, Enable headed to America for the first time, this time to Churchill Downs for the Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf. Frankie Dettori travelled with her and they started as the 8/13 favourites where they ended up winning by 3/4 of a length to Magical (13/2) for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.

Enable then took a 245 day winter break and returned to the track on July 6th 2019 for the Group 1 Coral Eclipse at Sandown. She was the odds on favourite at 4/6 with Frankie Dettori once again taking the ride. Here she ended up beating Magical (11/4) for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien by 3/4 of a length once again, practically re-living her previous race.

Three weeks later on July 27th 2019, Enable headed to Ascot for the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, this time as the odds on 8/15 favourite again, with her regular partner Frankie Dettori riding. Here she won by just a neck to Crystal Ocean (7/2) for James Doyle and Sir Michael Stoute.

Moving into August, Enable headed to York on the 22nd for the Group 1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks where she was the 1/4 favourite under Frankie Dettori. She beat Magical (4/1) by 2 and 3/4 lengths for Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien.

On October 6th 2019, Enable headed back to Longchamp in France for the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc Triomphe once again. This time she was 1/2 favourite with Frankie Dettori, however she only managed a second place by 1 and 3/4 lengths to the winner Waldgeist (131/10) for Pierre-Charles Boudot and A Fabre.

After a 273 day break, Enable returned to the track on July 5th 2020 this time at Sandown for the Group 1 Coral Eclipse once again. Here she was the Evens favourite under Frankie Dettori, once again she could only manage a second place, this time by 2 and 1/4 lengths behind Ghaiyyath (9/4) for William Buick and Charlie Appleby.

Enable then returned to winning ways on July 25th 2020 when she went to Ascot for the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as the 4/9 favourite under Frankie Dettori and won by 5 and 1/2 lengths to Sovereign (12/1) for William Buick and Aidan O’Brien.

On September 5th 2020 Enable had her final race in the UK when she headed to Kempton for the Group 3 September Stakes on the all weather surface. She was the 1/14 favourite and Frankie Dettori took the ride. Her final run in the UK would be a victorious one when she won by 7 lengths to Kirstenbosch (33/1) for James Doyle and James Fanshawe.

Enable’s final run came on October 4th 2020 when she headed to Longchamp in France for another go at the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The public were aware this quite possibly would be her final run so she was heavily backed into the 9/10 favourite under Frankie Dettori. Unfortunately she would have her worst finish of her career when finishing 6th, however she still got an incredible standing ovation when returning from the race from the whole crowd and everybody watching from home.

On October 12th 2020 it was confirmed that Enable would be retired with trainer John Gosden saying:

Enable has retired happy and sound after an extraordinary career. We all here at Clarehaven Stables have been very fortunate to be with her for the past five years. She’s been a joy to be around.”

https://www.greatbritishracing.com/news/all-hail-the-queen-enable-retires/

With her regular partner Frankie Dettori also saying:

Obviously I shed a tear as I was a bit emotional. She’s done so brilliant for all of us and I love her. I’m never going to forget her. I went to see her this morning. We had a tremendous journey for three and a half, four years. She was the horse that most touched my heart.”

https://www.greatbritishracing.com/news/all-hail-the-queen-enable-retires/

So all in all, Enable finished her racing career with some incredible figures:

1/3111111/111/1112/2116-

Other than her 6th place in her final appearance, Enable never finished outside of the first 3. She had:

19 x runs
15 x 1st
2 x 2nd
1 x 3rd
1 x 6th

Winning over £10.7 million in her career including some major wins and awards along the way. The Cheshire Oaks, Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks in 2017 as well as the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2017, 2019 and 2020, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in 2017 and 2018, the September Stakes in 2018 and 2020, the Breeders Cup Turf in 2018, the Yorkshire Oaks again in 2019 and the Eclipse Stakes in 2019. As well as winning the Cartier Champion Three Year Old Filly in 2017, the Cartier Horse of the Year in 2017 and 2019 as well as the Cartier Champion Older Horse in 2018 and 2019.

Enable has now went on to be a broodmare standing at Juddmonte and on March 2nd 2021 it was confirmed by Juddmonte via Twitter that Enable is successfully in foal to Kingman. So therefore her story is far from over and if her foals are anything like her or the family she has came from then they will be a force to be reckoned with and I am very excited to see how the future goes.

All in all, I don’t think I even need to say much, Enable was and is still loved by so many and that shows by the emotion when she had her final run, not only from Frankie, John and those involved with her personally, but also those at home who have just watched her. I think it shows how loved she is by the reaction to her also being in foal, the excitement on social media that her story will be continuing was amazing and I think that speaks for itself. Enable is a true people’s horse and for me she will go down as one of the greatest and I cannot wait to see how well (hopefully) her career as a broodmare goes and how successful her foals will go on to be.

I personally love Enable and I loved being able to have a look back at her career, I hope you all enjoyed reading. I will see you all Saturday morning at 11am for a new post!