Coral-Eclipse

White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) will not line out in Saturday's Coral-Eclipse after connections revealed the Group 1 scorer has recorded an unsatisfactory blood test. In the John Murphy-trained four-year-old's absence, City Of Troy (Justify) is now as short as 2-5 to build on his Epsom heroics at Sandown. George Murphy, assistant trainer to his father John, told the Racing Post, "White Birch had a blood test this morning and unfortunately it hasn't come back 100 per cent perfect. "As a result, we've decided not to travel to Sandown for...

The participation of White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) in Saturday's Coral-Eclipse at Sandown hinges on how the Group 1 scorer comes through a crucial gallop on Wednesday, according to George Murphy, assistant trainer to his father John.  White Birch got the better of Aidan O'Brien's Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on his most recent start but missed the rematch in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. He will face another Ballydoyle big gun in this year's Derby winner City...

Roger Teal is eyeing up a crack at the Coral-Eclipse for Dancing Gemini (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who ran with credit to finish sixth in the Derby on Saturday. Having already run a huge race this season to be an unlucky second in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, Dancing Gemini was stepping up to a mile-and-a-half for the first time at Epsom. Drawn in stall 15, Dylan Browne McMonagle had to take his medicine and found himself at the back of the pack before working his way into contention with a...

Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) are among the star names to have stood their ground for Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse S. as they feature among the six horses left in the Sandown showpiece. The John and Thady Gosden-trained Emily Upjohn made a tremendous start to her campaign in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month and will revert in trip for the Coral-Eclipse with William Buick set to take over from the suspended Frankie Dettori. Aidan O'Brien said last week that a step up...

Dante winner and Derby fifth The Foxes (Ire) is set for a drop back in trip for his next outing, with the Coral-Eclipse put forward as a possible target, after connections felt the Churchill (Ire) colt failed to see out the trip at Epsom on Saturday.  Andrew Balding's charge was a good winner of the Royal Lodge in September and was only touched off by Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) in the Craven at Newmarket on his first run as a three-year-old. Owned by King Power Racing, he improved on that...

Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will sidestep Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse S. at Sandown in favour of a trip to America the following weekend. The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt is now being aimed at the GI Belmont Derby, where he is likely to clash with Charlie Appleby's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and GI French 2000 Guineas winner Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori. O'Brien won last year's Belmont race with Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) confirmed that plans were in place for a...

One of the most exciting horses in France, Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) is set to take his chance in the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday, and connections are expecting a massive performance.  Vadeni, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget, was supplemented at a cost of £50,000 for the race on Monday. A hugely impressive winner of the G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly when last seen, the French raider is a general 2-1 favourite to follow up on that success at Sandown.   Georges Rimaud, the Aga Khan's racing manager,...

Last year's Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will miss the Coral-Eclipse S. at Sandown, according to his trainer Charlie Appleby, who has nominated the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot next month as the most likely destination for the 4-year-old's return.  Adayar has not run this season and had already been ruled out of the Coronation Cup at Epsom after suffering a minor setback.  However, Appleby has reported Adayar to be back in full work and, while he won't be ready in time for the Prince...

Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown has been cut to four after Thursday's confirmation stage, with Aidan O'Brien declaring just St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) from his three initial entries left in earlier this week. With David Menuisier also opting to wait with Christopher Wright's Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), that means that Ballydoyle's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero faces two main rivals in the multiple Group 1 winners Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) plus the Jockey...

By 3.35pm on Sunday, the Derby and Oaks will already be old news and the dust will be settling after Chantilly's early-afternoon prestige races. As if all the Classics that played out over the longest weekend were mere support acts, Juddmonte's sovereign Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) is back to take up most of the headline inches in a renewal of Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse which rates as one of the finest in its recent history. No horse in training has the same draw as the 6-year-old and although the Classic generation...

Saturday sees racing continue its measured defiance of the chaos around the globe, with the 241st renewal of one of the beautiful races, the G1 Investec Derby, emanating light as a beacon to the world's audience from its traditional home of Epsom Downs in Surrey. As it is, this will likely be the only post-Royal Ascot one, which adds a fascinating new dimension to a dramatically purse-reduced renewal and also to the stage-sharing G1 Investec Oaks. Due to the vagaries of the current situation, only one of the 24 colts...

NEWMARKET, UK—Champion jockey Oisin Murphy was in Newmarket early on Wednesday to ride work on Japanese globetrotter Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) ahead of the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. a week on Sunday. The 6-year-old mare has been based in Britain for more than a year, during which time she has raced in Ireland, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. She also made two appearances on British racecourses last year at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, where she became the first Japanese-bred runner to win a Group 1 race in Britain when landing...