It is fair to say that this weekend’s Coral Eclipse may be the race of the season so far. With five of the six already Group 1 winners, the other being a rampant course and distance winner at Group 3 level, it is a proper contest to savour. We have picked out our 1-2-3 for the race below.
1. Native Trail (Charlie Appleby, William Buick)
Godolphin’s NATIVE TRAIL has been a short-priced favourite for every assignment since he blazed clear in the Group 1 National Stakes as a juvenile. Seeing him at prices as great as 3/1 seems wrong, in spite of the strength of this field.
He cemented his status as Europe’s champion juvenile in 2021 by comfortably winning the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket and reappeared in fine fettle in the Craven Stakes. That warmed him up for a gallant defeat in the 2000 Guineas when drawn disastrously compared to stablemate Coroebus.
Coroebus franked the form when winning the St James’s Palace Stakes and Native Trail followed up himself in the Irish 2000 Guineas. That victory was not earned decisively, but as in most of his starts, he took a long time to find his best stride, before eventually powering home.
This step up to 1m2f should suit him perfectly on all the visual clues he has given. With just a single defeat in his entire career, he is worth significant respect. The Classic generation, which he represents, have won four of the last seven renewals.
2. Alenquer (William Haggas, Tom Marquand)
Conversely to Native Trail’s age group, ALENQUER’s have been less successful. Ulysses is the only winner since 2013 who has won this at the age of four.
However, William Haggas’ charge has performed to a very high level in his career and is probably too big a price here. He defeated last year’s Derby hero Adayar in the Classic Trial over course and distance at the start of his three-year-old season and had placed in both the Irish Derby and Juddmonte International before the end of the season.
His defeat of Lord North in Lingfield’s Winter Derby at the start of this season was hugely impressive and 1m4f proved only slightly too far when a close sixth in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan. His return to Europe saw him claim his first top tier success when gunning down High Definition in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
On a line through the third that day, State Of Rest, he holds Bay Bridge, who is half the price here. Given Alenquer is also a winner over track and trip, he could easily go just as close.
3. Vadeni (Jean-Claude Rouget, Christophe Soumillon)
VADENI was an astonishing winner of the Prix Du Jockey Club at Chantilly and could easily wrestle the prize back home to the continent.
In the colours of the Aga Khan, Vadeni sauntered clear from Group 1 winners El Bodegon and Modern Games, winning by five lengths. Christophe Soumillon was able to sit up in the saddle long before the pair hit the line.
Though his prep run for that race came on good ground, his rampant win was on soft. That was well over a stone better than any of his previous efforts and while he may have been kept under wraps, he has to prove that was not a flash in the pan.
This is substantially tougher against genuinely top class opposition. Nevertheless, he is possibly the likeliest generational superstar.