Saturday's G1 Derby winner City Of Troy (Justify) and progressive four-year-old Passenger (Ulysses {Ire}) head the betting for the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. after the latest entries were released on Tuesday. A total of 40 horses remain in contention for the first big clash of the generations in the middle-distance division, which will be run at Sandown on Saturday, July 6 and offers total prize-money of £750,000.
Golden Horn (GB) in 2015 was the last Derby winner to follow up in the Eclipse and trainer Aidan O'Brien identified this race as one of several options on the table for City Of Troy in the aftermath of his sparkling success at Epsom. O'Brien is responsible for 13 of the 40 entries altogether, with the others including a pair of Classic winners from last year, Derby victor Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and G1 St Leger hero Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), plus Friday's G1 Coronation Cup winner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who wasn't far behind City Of Troy among the highest-rated two-year-olds of 2023.
Passenger, who reappeared this season with a smooth victory in the G3 Huxley S. at Chester, is a likely runner in the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. before a decision is made on his participation in the Eclipse. His opponents at Royal Ascot could include another son of Ulysses (Ire) and Eclipse entry in the recent G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner White Birch (GB), while a pair of mares trained by John and Thady Gosden also feature among the star older horses entered, namely the six-time Group 1 heroine Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and last year's Eclipse runner-up Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
Of the Classic generation, G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}) and Derby sixth Dancing Gemini (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) are others who have already shown a high level of form. A pair of three-year-olds who don't currently hold an Eclipse entry are Epsom runner-up Ambiente Friendly (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and the wide-margin G2 Dante S. winner Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), though their connections do have the option of supplementing them at a cost of £37,500 at the five-day confirmation stage on Monday, July 1.
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