Ante-Post bet for the Group One Coral Eclipse at Sandown Park

The Group One Coral Eclipse is one of the early summer highlights of the horse racing calendar with the Classic generation taking on the older horses. It has been won by some very good ones down the years Ghaiyyath last year, Enable before that, Golden Horn in 2015 and Sea The Stars in 2009 to name just four in recent history. The entries for this season's renewal were a star-studded list as you would expect but it has whittled down to a rather disappointing seven runners at this stage, more might come out yet, and looks a shadow of the race it might have been. It seems strange to me so few are prepared to show-up for a race of this calibre, the max field allowed for 17 runners and there is £600,000 in the pot!  

Anyway, onto those who do run and what one should win!  

The weight-for-age scale is a big consideration at this time of year with the three-year-olds getting 10lb off their older rivals. St Marks Basilica has been mopping up the big races in France having won the G.1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains over a mile and the G.1 Prix du Jockey Club over 1m2½f (tipped on here) so far this year. Arguably the best of the three-year-old colts at Ballydoyle he can add a third Group One to his haul this season in this, I have the 7-4 ante-post. With the 10lb he gets off the versatile Mishriff he has every chance of beating that colt, only rated 2lb inferior officially and I think there is more to come yet from the selection. Addeybb is top rated at 125 of those left in at this stage and any further rain this week will help the seven-year-olds chances but there aint much in the forecast and the selection has been winning on soft anyway. Team Ballydoyle also have Armory in the line-up at the moment who as third in the G.1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and Japan, who was third in this last year behind Ghaiyyath,  but looked a shadow of the horse he was in the G.2 Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting.  My biggest concern right now is that ‘the lads’ send the three-year-old over for the race!

Fingers crossed.