Sandown: Delacroix swoops late to thwart Ombudsman in thrilling renewal of Eclipse
Under an inspired ride from Ryan Moore, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Delacroix emerged from last to first to thwart the well-fancied Ombudsman in the latest instalment of the Coral-Eclipse; earlier on the card, Rumstar finished with a flourish to get back on the winning trail
Saturday 5 July 2025 16:41, UK
Delacroix overcame traffic problems to deny Ombudsman in a pulsating latest edition of the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
A quality field of six runners went to post for a Group One contest that traditionally gives the Classic generation a first chance to meet their elders and this year's renewal was no exception, with four three-year-olds taking on two top-class older horses in Ombudsman and Sosie.
Ombudsman was the 6-4 favourite to supplement his brilliant success in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and quickened up to lead inside the final furlong - but having looked to be struggling at the rear of the field early in the straight, Derby disappointment Delacroix (3-1) came with a wet sail under a power-packed Moore drive to get up by a neck.
"It wasn't the first or the second or the third plan! He began okay, but nobody really wanted to make the running and there was three of us in a line," Moore said.
"Me and William [Buick, on Ombudsman] wanted the same position and I had to give way. He was on an older, bigger horse so I thought we'd wait and go around.
"They got first run on me and he's obviously a very good horse with a good turn of foot. He quickened up really well.
"I think 10 furlongs is fine and if anything he could probably run over shorter. He's a horse we've always held in high regard and he was the only horse in this race that hadn't won a Group One, but he'd threatened to and he's obviously out of a great racemare [Tepin] and by Dubawi."
Blue Bolt strikes in Distaff heat
Blue Bolt continued her progression with a third straight victory in the Coral Distaff at Sandown.
Beaten into fifth place as an odds-on favourite for her racecourse debut at Southwell in April, Andrew Balding's filly has not looked back since, bolting up at Windsor in May before following up with a comfortable success at Newbury in June.
She was a 2-1 favourite to complete her hat-trick at Listed level in Esher and having grabbed the lead from an early stage under Colin Keane, the daughter of Blue Point found plenty for pressure in the straight to score by a length from Cajole.
"When I saw the draw we had (stall three), I knew there was no point in taking her back," said Keane.
"I'm still getting the hang of the place, for a stiff track it's hard to come from too far back off the pace. When the ground is like that, being on the pace helps and being on a nice filly is an even bigger help.
"It's such a stiff track, when you turn in on the straight you're climbing the whole way and I suppose horses struggle to make up ground on it."
Richard Hannon's Dubawi gelding Classic came good in the one-mile Coral Challenge.
The five-year-old has often looked better than his bare form, and a switch to front-running tactics under Sean Levey unlocked that potential as he claimed success by a length and a quarter at 6-1.
"I was sick of seeing him be unlucky, looking like he has all the ability in the world, we know that," said Hannon.
"Today he looked like he was never going to get beaten. Jack (Hannon's son) said to me a furlong from home 'is Sean OK, he looks like he's injured or something, he's not trying'. He was trying!
"This horse has had a lot of near-misses and he's an extremely talented horse who is by a stallion (Dubawi) where anything is possible.
"He could well turn out to be a Group horse and could come back to seven furlongs no problem - he's got loads of speed and loads of ability."
Rumstar leads Sandown Charge for Portman
Rumstar finished with a flourish to get back on the winning trail in the Coral Charge.
Having finished last season with a Listed success in Ascot's Rous Stakes, Jonathan Portman's sprinter picked up where he left off when landing the Group Three Palace House at Newmarket in May.
The five-year-old subsequently struggled in the Temple Stakes at Haydock and the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, but dropping back to Group Three class, the 11-2 shot picked up well inside the last of five furlongs to get up and beat the front-running She's Quality by three-quarters of a length.
Portman felt Rumstar had valid reasons for his last two runs, saying: "Like with every sprint race, everything needs to go just right on the day and at Haydock it didn't.
"I don't think he likes Haydock and I certainly don't! At Royal Ascot I just think he got into top gear a bit too soon, he was a bit wide and it just didn't work for him.
"We made a conscious decision today to hang on to him a bit and come through them, which is very risky at Sandown because if you don't get that run you can hit a bit of traffic.
"Rob [Hornby, winning jockey] found that gap, he did it to perfection. He knows the horse well and he loves the horse.
"We didn't enter him at Goodwood, we thought five furlongs there might not suit him."
