15:35 Sandown – Coral Eclipse (Group 1) With all the major festivals such as Royal Ascot and the impending Glorious Goodwood often taking the headlines it’s nice to see a stand alone Group 1 contest that holds just as much history and gravitas. The Eclipse has had some unbelievable winners when scrolling through the history books. Names such as prolific sire Giant’s Causeway, fellow Ballydoyle resident Hawk Wing, Godolphin owned Refuse To Bend and Daylami not to mention former Derby winners Sea The Stars and Golden Horn as well as last years horse of the year Roaring Lion. This years race doesn’t look like an exception to the rule and Enable could be added to the imperious list of winners. The Gosden trained superstar enters the race after a 245 day layoff but has won her last nine on the trot. She started to show the odd glimpses of fragility at the end of last season when only just holding on to win the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe but how can you write off a horse that will go down as one of the best fillies of the past century. At the age of five she surely has enough still left in the tank to dispatch of this decent looking field and although she renews rivalries with Magical who pushed her close in America when she last stepped foot on the racecourse she’s undoubtedly a class above. It’s true that Magical did very well to get so close to Enable last time and I’d go as far as to say Magical has improved since they last met but a second to Crystal Ocean showed that the Irish raider is far from invincible. The biggest threat to the favourite who is likely to favour a firmer surface however when it comes to Magical she looks likely to play the role of Bridesmaid once again. Course and distance winner Regal Reality is no pushover and has enough to mop up the left overs that the main duo leave behind but it’d be a big shock to see her able to overturn either of the two at the head of the market. The interesting one has to be the lightly raced Telecaster who still has plenty of room to grow after just four runs to his name. A disappointing effort in The Derby can be put behind him especially on a flatter course and a drop in trip is likely to be of benefit. For those punters looking to find a bit of each way value Telecaster may well be the only alternative but Enable is a superstar and surely she can’t be beaten. Can she? ENABLE (WIN)
ITV RACING:
13:50 Sandown – GARRUS (WIN) 14:05 Haydock – PREFONTAINE (E/W) 14:25 Sandown – ZHUI FENG (WIN) 14:40 Haydock – DRAMATIC QUEEN (WIN) 15:00 Sandown – MUCHLY (WIN) 15:15 Haydock – LUCIUS TIBERIUS (E/W) 15:35 Sandown – ENABLE (WIN)
The Cambridge News – PicksfromthePaddock.co.uk:
17:20 Sandown – PEMPIE (WIN)
The Jersey Evening Post – Rory Paddock:
15:10 Beverley – ONLY SPOOFING (WIN)
East Anglian Daily Times – Dean Kilbryde:
15:50 Haydock – KEEP BUSY (WIN)
Norwich Evening News – Chris Connolly:
16:20 Beverley – INDOMENEO (WIN)
Ipswich Star – Matt Polley:
15:15 Haydock – MELTING DEW (WIN)
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