THE first thought after the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby was how good is Golden Horn?

On two occasions this season he has fairly whizzed past Jack Hobbs who looked pretty good at the Curragh. Today at Sandown, Golden Horn must make another step up with The Great Gatsby bringing top class Group 1 form to the table.

The small field brings another problem for a hold-up horse, and the Eclipse is quite regularly a tactical race and the best horse has often been beaten by tactics - Park Top, Bosra Sham, Ouija Board, and Mukhadram may have been lucky at 14/1 last year.

Who will make the running is the big question but what is also a possibilty is that a slow pace will suit The Grey Gatsby even less than Golden Horn.

Kevin Ryan’s grey increasingly looks like a horse who lengthens rather than quickens.

At Leopardstown he came off a fast pace to overcome Australia with a sustained challenge and again at Ascot, once in the clear, he needed time to get into top gear. Jamie Spencer has more of a dilemma than Frankie on Golden Horn. He might have nothing to lose by attacking first.