CORAL-ECLIPSE STAKES

(Group 1)

THERE is no stopping John Gosden and Frankie Dettori this season and at Sandown last Saturday Golden Horn added to their Group 1 tally by making most of the running in the Coral-Eclipse, coming home three and a half lengths in front of The Grey Gatsby.

The winner’s stable-companion Western Hymn took third but the contest was dominated by the first two, with Cougar Mountain and Tullius never seriously competitive.

In a five-runner field there was bound to be speculation about tactics, but as soon as Tullius dropped in behind it was fairly obvious that Golden Horn, impressive when coming from off the pace in the Derby, would have to ensure a sound gallop himself.

Having marginally missed the kick, he was soon in front, with Jamie Spencer tracking him on The Grey Gatsby, looking to mount a sustained challenge in the straight. Thus it was, as Gosden mentioned later, a ‘clean’ race with no hiding place as Dettori asked Golden Horn to lengthen.

Spencer duly brought The Grey Gatsby alongside and for a while it seemed the Derby winner, sent off at 4/9, would have to battle but Golden Horn does not lack courage and gradually went away again, readily extending his advantage close home.

He looks to be right up there with the best recent Derby winners and was emulating Sea The Stars, another of Cape Cross’s sons to complete the Epsom-Sandown double.

The King George may be his next assignment, though clearly the confrontation everyone wants to see is the one with dual Arc heroine Treve at Longchamp in October.

Dettori, who seems to have recovered all of his former prestige and joie de vivre in a matter of weeks, would be lining up against the filly he used to ride.

REMARKABLE HORSE

“In none of the races I’ve ridden him in, or at any stage on the gallops, has he ever felt tired,” the Italian observed after last week’s triumph. “He is a remarkable horse and his constitution is unbelievable. As a three-year-old, right now, I would say he is the best I’ve ridden.”

Gosden has become the leading light among Newmarket trainers without any fuss or bother and, in a modest way, manages to give the impression that it was always going to happen. Even the departure of William Buick to Godolphin was handled with remarkable calm, as if a move which surprised many people was, in fact, quite predictable and not a cause for concern.

With Dettori riding like this the trainer was unlikely to lose any sleep and, like Aidan O’Brien, he seems to have a stable of high-class contenders with hardly any journeymen.

“There were no hard luck stories today,” he said. “The Grey Gatsby has run a blinder and there was a real battle between the two. We long to see a clash of the generations like that, it’s what racing is all about.”

His generous comments regarding the runner-up were richly deserved. There are those who feel the older horses have an arduous task trying to concede 11lb and The Grey Gatsby’s trainer Kevin Ryan, with so many recent seconds, was understandably a proud man. The Juddmonte International, back at the Irishman’s ‘home’ track, the Knavesmire at York, more or less picks itself.

Like Gosden, winning owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer was reluctant to nominate specific targets, preferring to wait and see how the horse recovers from last week’s exertions.

After a period of reflection, however, he intimated that Golden Horn would probably be retired at the end of his three-year-old career. Formerly the boss of De Beers, who sponsored the King George for many years, he is naturally keen to win the Ascot showpiece and Golden Horn is generally odds-on at around 4/6 but there are no firm plans.

It was a remarkable day and another hugely successful Saturday, underlining the fact that there now appear to be two different sports going on side by side - routine fare from Monday to Thursday and glittering occasions at the weekend, with the racing press starting the build-up as early as the preceding Monday.

The final word must inevitably go to Dettori, whose father Gianfranco won the Eclipse on the Henry Cecil-trained Wollow 40 years ago - the first year of Coral’s long-running sponsorship.

“I started in March with nothing and now I’ve won the Eclipse, the Derby, the Prix de Diane and the Diamond Jubilee. It’s mad, absolutely mad,” he smiled.

Well, it may be mad but it’s also quite wonderful. A smiling, leaping Dettori at the peak of his powers makes the world a brighter, happier place. When you think how easily it might all have been lost, it’s a good reason to celebrate.