Sandown Saturday

Coral-Eclipse (Group 1)

CONSTITUTION River (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) confirmed himself the dominant middle-distance three-year-old of the season, with a decisive success in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday, giving O’Brien a 10th win in the race and extending Ballydoyle’s recent grip on the midsummer showpiece.

The 8/11 favourite arrived having already taken the Dee Stakes and Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club, and he looked every inch a champion as he quickened clear up the Esher hill.

Stablemate Flushing Meadows (Sean Levey) ensured a searching gallop, going clear after three furlongs and stretching the field before weakening, while Gethin and the winner’s stablemate Hawk Mountain were prominent in the chasing pack.

Moore had Constitution River in midfield and, though briefly needing racing room as the pacemaker came back, the response was immediate once Moore switched the winner out and asked him to go about his business. He swept to the front over a furlong out and kept on strongly to beat A Boy Named Susie (Donnacha O’Brien/Oisin Murphy) by three lengths, with Hawk Mountain (Wayne Lordan) a neck away in third to complete a sweep of the places for the Classic generation.

Left an impression

The winning time of 2m 4.43s underlined the merit of the performance on good-to-firm ground, and the manner of the victory left the impression that the son of Wootton Bassett has the combination of tactical pace and stamina to be aimed wherever connections wish.

The Sussex Stakes, King George, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Arc are all viable options and picking the best path for the brilliant winner must be a pleasant quandary to deal with.

The older horses were left with excuses of varying degrees, with Saddadd staying on into fourth without ever threatening, while Gethin, who had run Ombudsman close in the Brigadier Gerard, was too close to a demanding early pace and faded to fifth.

On the bare result, though, the Eclipse belonged emphatically to the younger brigade, and to a winner who now looks capable of dominating the second half of the flat season.

O’Brien said: “We’re over the moon with him; we’ve always thought the world of him. The lads will decide what happens with him, but he’ll have no problem dropping back to a mile, staying at a mile and a quarter or going up to a mile and a half.

“I asked Ryan and he said you can go wherever you want; he doesn’t think he’s ridden a better horse. He’s heavier today than he’s ever been and Ryan said he had to move a little bit earlier than he wanted.”

Rest of the Card

RUMSTAR (Jonathan Portman/Rob Hornby) bounced back from a poor run at Royal Ascot, just as he had 12 months earlier, to gain his second win in the Group 3 Coral Charge, getting the better of Luna A Inbhir Nis (Katie Scott/Ray Dawson) and Partisan Hero (Dave Loughnane/Colin Keane) by a length and a head in the five-furlong dash. The race was run at a typically strong tempo, with the early speedsters all drawn towards the far rail, setting the contest up for a finisher, and Rumstar’s proven ability to cope with Sandown’s stiff finish came to the fore.

This was a valuable return to pattern-race form for a sprinter who has been a mainstay of the Portman yard for several years and marked Rumstar’s fourth success at Group 3 level.

Coral Distaff

Secret Of Life (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) justified 2/1 favouritism in the Listed Coral Distaff, beating Silenciosa (Tom Clover/Kieran Shoemark) and Estissa (James Fanshawe/Oisin Murphy) by two and three-quarter lengths and a neck to give her season a timely lift.

Secret Of Life was soon in front and, when Ryan shook her up with a quarter of a mile to go, she responded instantly to put the race to bed and justify Beckett’s pre-race confidence. She is now unbeaten in three starts and has entries in both the Lennox Stakes and the Celebration Mile at Goodwood later in the summer.

The concern going into the race was whether Secret Of Life would cope with faster ground, but her trainer was confident that the uphill home straight at Sandown would negate any such worries.

She will need to step up again to win in pattern company, but there is no doubt about the high regard in which she is held at Kimpton.

“Secret Of Life is a smart filly,” said Beckett after her victory. “You can see the size of her - she’s a big girl and it’s only really in the last three weeks that she’s properly filled her frame. We didn’t plan on making the running today, but it helped.

“What happens next, I’m not sure. She will step up into Group company now and could maybe step up in trip at some point. We’ll work back from the autumn.”

Newmarket Saturday

Betway Lancashire Oaks (Group 2)

TATTYCORAM (Ralph Beckett/Eddie Greatrex) relegated favourite Tiffany (Sir Mark Prescott/Luke Morris) to her now accustomed role as bridesmaid by landing the Group 2 Betway Lancashire Oaks on Saturday, moved from Haydock due to issues with the turf there.

The daughter of Camelot had won the Listed Daisy Warwick Stakes at Goodwood in May and was showing improved form to gain her first win in pattern company here, returning at an SP of 11/2.

Having been placed in four consecutive outings at Group 1 level before another silver medal on seasonal debut in France last month, 5/4 favourite Tiffany was fitted with a visor for the first time and looked to hold outstanding claims.

After making most of the running, she had no answer to Tattycoram’s finishing kick in the final furlong and was beaten four and a half lengths by the Chasemore Farm (Andrew Black) home-bred. The Noel Meade-trained Caught U Sleeping (David Egan) picked up blacktype, as she was a length and a quarter behind the 5/4 favourite in third.

“We finished early with Tattycoram last year, as we hoped she could develop from three to four,” said Beckett on ITV Racing.

“It looks like that’s the case. She went into a dip after winning the Daisy Warwick at Goodwood, hence the two-month break, but I was easy about that and today was a race that was always going to set up well for her. I’d imagine she’ll go straight to the Yorkshire Oaks now.”