Coral-Eclipse Day: Top Trainers, Jockeys and Sires and Betting Tips

The Esher venue of Sandown grabs centre stage on the racing front this Saturday. The Group 1 firecracker of the Coral-Eclipse Stakes takes top billing on a seven-race card featuring two further events at Listed level or above. It’s hard to look past the Eclipse as the clear highlight, as the four-year-olds, Ombudsman and Sosie, attempt to fend off a talented quartet of three-year-olds. The youngsters have held the edge in recent years, but how will the race pan out in 2025?

Elsewhere on the menu, the speedballs kick off the entertainment in the fast and furious Coral Charge while the fillies take their turn in the spotlight in the Listed class Coral Distaff. Throw in four compelling handicap contests, and you have the perfect excuse to claim the sofa for yourself on Saturday afternoon. As ever, one sure way to increase the excitement is with a bet or two. Here, using data presented by NewBettingSites.uk, we look back at the past ten editions of this fixture – highlighting the trainers, jockeys, and sires who have fared best of all. Finally, we use this data to pick out our best bets for Coral-Eclipse Day 2025.

Top Trainers

William Haggas tends to do well at this time of year and nudges out fellow Newmarket handler John Gosden to claim the top spot in our standings. Haggas fared particularly well in the 3yo only events, with seven of his ten winners falling into that category. All ten wins came in either the handicaps or the Listed event for the fillies.

• With five wins on his own and four in partnership with his son Thady, John Gosden is just one win behind Haggas. Three of Gosden's wins arrived in the Eclipse, and six of nine were at Listed level or above.
• Five of Richard Hannon’s six wins arrived in handicaps over 7f-1m2f.
• Sir Michael Stoute made his presence felt at this fixture but has now retired.
• Simon Crisford claimed two handicaps as a sole trainer and has since added the Group 3 Coral Charge in partnership with his son Ed.
• Two of Charlie Appleby’s three wins arrived in the main event, while Charles Hills struck twice in the Coral Charge.
• Last but by no means least, all three of Aidan O’Brien’s victories arrived in the Coral-Eclipse.

Top Jockeys

The number one rider to William Haggas, Tom Marquand, rode three winners for his main employer. Five of his seven wins came in handicap events, but he also grabbed gold in the Distaff and Charge.

Ryan Moore was the man in the saddle for all three of Aidan O’Brien’s Eclipse wins. He also rode two winners for Sir Michael Stoute and the Gosden operation.

In the news for all the right and wrong reasons of late, champion jockey Oisin Murphy rode winners for five different trainers. All five wins came in events over 1m-1m2f.

James Doyle also spread his winners amongst five different trainers but scored over 5f, 7f, 1m, and 1m2f.

Now based in the USA, Frankie Dettori won’t appear at the meeting in 2025.

Three of William Buick's four wins came at Group 3 level or above, including two victories in the big one.

Three of Jim Crowley’s wins came in the handicaps on the card.

Top Sires

Only three sires struck more than twice in our sample, headed by the ever-reliable Dubawi. Three of Dubawi’s wins came in 1m2f events, including one in the Coral-Eclipse.

Renowned for his phenomenal speed at the track, Muhaarar is proving to be a surprisingly versatile stallion. All three of his wins at this meeting came over 1m.

All three of Invincible Spirit’s wins were over 1m, including two in the Listed event for the fillies.

Race by Race Trends Picks

• 1:50 Coral Charge - The two qualifiers in the opener, Ardrestia and Queen All Star, both boast a win over the course and distance. Having landed the Palace Of Holyrood House Handicap at Royal Ascot last time, the former has achieved more at the track. However, on a line of form through Redorange, Queen All Star looks overpriced. Back in April, Redorange conceded 1lb to Queen All Star and lost out by a length and a quarter. Last time out, the same horse went down by a length to Ardrestia despite conceding 6lb to that rival.
• 2:25 Coral Challenge - Over half the field earns plus points for their trainer, jockey or sire in race 2. Going for the William Haggas/Tom Marquand combo, Treasure Time is all the rage in the betting. His latest effort saw him finish a solid fourth at Doncaster, but that was 294 days ago. He doesn’t look as far ahead of these as the odds suggest. Take a chance instead on the mount of Jim Crowley, Hi Royal. Twice placed in Group 1 company, he may not be the horse of old, but he showed plenty of zest on his seasonal return when runner-up at Thirsk. Ignore his effort last time out in the Royal Hunt Cup, as he never runs well at Ascot. BetMGM are offering four places on the race, which makes odds of 28/1 look like excellent each-way value.
• 3:00 Coral Distaff - The promising Blue Bolt heads the betting in the big event for the fillies. However, she doesn’t qualify via trainer, jockey or sire. Looking further down the list, the one to catch our eye is the Charlie Appleby-trained, William Buick-ridden Victory Queen. Successful on debut, she did well to defy a 6lb penalty to make it two from two at Ascot. At the prices, the only unbeaten filly in the field is the one to be on.
• 3:35 Coral-Eclipse - 12lb clear of the field on ratings and only required to concede 10lb to the three-year-olds, the John & Thady Gosden-trained Ombudsman is a worthy favourite. However, with rain in the area, the colts stated preference for a quick surface is enough to make us overlook those Even Money odds. 2000 Guineas champ Ruling Court and French Derby hero Camille Pissarro merit respect, but we will side with Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore to strike in the feature. Delacroix flopped in the Derby, but we are happy to forgive any horse a poor outing at that unique track. If we ignore that effort, the son of Dubawi boasts rock-solid claims, with his verdict over Lambourn in the Ballysax Stakes reading particularly well.
• 4:12 Coral Celebrating 50-Year Eclipse Sponsorship Handicap - This 7f handicap for the three-year-olds has attracted several intriguing contenders. City Of Poets has the services of Ryan Moore in the saddle and arrives seeking a hattrick. Still showing signs of greenness when scoring at Wetherby last time, he boasts stacks of potential. However, he is – a little reluctantly – passed over in favour of Dance In The Storm. Oisin Murphy takes the ride aboard this son of Night Of Thunder, who showed a sizzling turn of foot to score over course and distance last time out.
• 4:45 Coral “Pipped-At-The-Post” And Win Handicap - The penultimate contest is one of the toughest to unravel, with most of the 12 runners having some sort of question to answer. The most solid option is the William Haggas-trained Yabher. Successful on debut last season, the son of Sea The Stars then lost the plot in four subsequent outings. However, he showed signs of life when second on his first start since a gelding operation in June. Any improvement on that effort should see him go close.
• 5:15 Coral Golden Rewards Shaker Handicap - the John & Thady Gosden-trained Nebras catches the eye in the closing handicap, having finished second in Listed company two starts back. However, it was disappointing to see him take a backward step at this track last time. Arabian Stom has the form to go well under Buick, but the best bet in the race is the Charles Hills runner, Ancient Rome. Twice successful in Group 3 company, he ran better than his finishing suggests in the Royal Hunt Cup last time, having switched around runners in the final furlong. He wouldn’t have won with a clear run, but this race doesn’t look anything like so hot.

Coral-Eclipse Day Selections

• 1:50 - Queen All Star each way @ 12/1 with BetMGM
• 2:25 - Hi Royal each way @ 28/1 with BetMGM
• 3:00 - Victory Queen each way @ 6/1 with BetGoodwin
• 3:35 - Delacroix each way @ 6/1 with BetGoodwin
• 4:12 - Dance In The Storm to win @ Best Morning Price
• 4:45 - Yabher to win @ Best Morning Price
• 5:15 - Ancient Rome To Win @ 11/2 with QuinnBet

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