Eclipse Stakes

This article is about the horse race in Great Britain. For other uses, see Eclipse Stakes (disambiguation).

Group 1 race
Eclipse Stakes
(Coral-Eclipse)

Location	Sandown Park Esher, England
Inaugurated	1886
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Coral
Website	Sandown Park
Race information
Distance	1m 2f 7y (2,018 m)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Three-years-old and up
Weight	8 st 10 lb (3yo); 9 st 7 lb (4yo+) Allowances 3 lb for fillies and mares
Purse	£400,000 (2011) 1st: £226,840

The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards (2,018 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.

History

The event is named after Eclipse, a celebrated 18th-century racehorse. It was established in 1886, and the inaugural running was won by Bendigo. At that time, it was Britain's richest ever race. The prize fund of £10,000 was donated by Leopold de Rothschild at the request of General Owen Williams, a co-founder of Sandown Park.

The Eclipse Stakes was contested by high-quality fields from its inception. It was won by Ayrshire, the previous year's Derby winner, in 1889. The first three finishers in 1903 — Ard Patrick, Sceptre and Rock Sand — had won seven Classics between them.

The race has been sponsored by Coral since 1976, and it is now familiarly known as the "Coral-Eclipse". The most recent Classic winner to achieve victory was Sea the Stars in 2009.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

• Orme – 1892, 1893
• Buchan – 1919, 1920
• Polyphontes – 1924, 1925
• Mtoto – 1987, 1988
• Halling – 1995, 1996

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Leading jockey (7 wins):

• Lester Piggott – Mystery IX (1951), Darius (1955), Arctic Explorer (1957), St Paddy (1961), Pieces of Eight (1966), Wolver Hollow (1969), Artaius (1977)

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Leading trainer (6 wins):

• Alec Taylor, Jr. – Bayardo (1909), Lemberg (1910, dead-heat), Buchan (1919, 1920), Craig an Eran (1921), Saltash (1923)

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Leading owner (5 wins): (includes part ownership)

• 17th Earl of Derby – Swynford (1911), Colorado (1927), Fairway (1928), Caerleon (1931), Gulf Stream (1946)
• Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor – Buchan (1919, 1920), Craig an Eran (1921), Saltash (1923), Rhodes Scholar (1936)
• Sue Magnier – Giant's Causeway (2000), Hawk Wing (2002), Oratorio (2005), Mount Nelson (2008), So You Think (2011)

Winners since 1960

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1960	Javelot	4	Freddie Palmer	Percy Carter	Geoffroy de Waldner	2:14.80
1961	St Paddy	4	Lester Piggott	Noel Murless	Sir Victor Sassoon	2:06.50
1962	Henry the Seventh	4	Edward Hide	Bill Elsey	Jim Joel	2:07.40
1963	Khalkis	3	Garnie Bougoure	Paddy Prendergast	Viscount Elveden	2:10.60
1964	Ragusa	4	Garnie Bougoure	Paddy Prendergast	Jim Mullion	2:07.40
1965	Canisbay	4	Stan Clayton	Cecil Boyd-Rochfort	Queen Elizabeth II	2:07.30
1966	Pieces of Eight	3	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Countess de la Valdène	2:08.90
1967	Busted	4	Bill Rickaby	Noel Murless	Stanhope Joel	2:07.70
1968	Royal Palace	4	Sandy Barclay	Noel Murless	Jim Joel	2:07.50
1969	Wolver Hollow	5	Lester Piggott	Henry Cecil	Hope Goddard Iselin	2:11.80
1970	Connaught	5	Sandy Barclay	Noel Murless	Jim Joel	2:06.00
1971	Mill Reef	3	Geoff Lewis	Ian Balding	Paul Mellon	2:05.40
1972	Brigadier Gerard	4	Joe Mercer	Dick Hern	Jean Hislop	2:20.20
1973	Scottish Rifle	4	Ron Hutchinson	John Dunlop	Sandy Struthers	2:12.39
1974	Coup de Feu	5	Pat Eddery	Duncan Sasse	Tim Sasse	2:08.86
1975	Star Appeal	5	Greville Starkey	Theo Grieper	Waldemar Zeitelhack	2:06.10
1976	Wollow	3	Gianfranco Dettori	Henry Cecil	Carlo d'Alessio	2:05.42
1977	Artaius	3	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Mrs George Getty II	2:05.30
1978	Gunner B	5	Joe Mercer	Henry Cecil	Pauline Barratt	2:05.05
1979	Dickens Hill	3	Tony Murray	Mick O'Toole	Mrs Jean-Pierre Binet	2:06.17
1980	Ela-Mana-Mou	4	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Simon Weinstock	2:10.20
1981	Master Willie	4	Philip Waldron	Henry Candy	Robert Barnett	2:07.44
1982	Kalaglow	4	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	Tony Ward	2:08.83
1983	Solford	3	Pat Eddery	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:06.36
1984	Sadler's Wells	3	Pat Eddery	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:04.53
1985	Pebbles	4	Steve Cauthen	Clive Brittain	Sheikh Mohammed	2:07.33
1986	Dancing Brave	3	Greville Starkey	Guy Harwood	Khalid Abdullah	2:06.18
1987	Mtoto	4	Michael Roberts	Alec Stewart	Ahmed Al Maktoum	2:04.33
1988	Mtoto	5	Michael Roberts	Alec Stewart	Ahmed Al Maktoum	2:06.14
1989	Nashwan	3	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:07.38
1990	Elmaamul	3	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:04.63
1991	Environment Friend	3	George Duffield	James Fanshawe	Bill Gredley	2:07.61
1992	Kooyonga	4	Warren O'Connor	Michael Kauntze	Mitsuo Haga	2:10.83
1993	Opera House	5	Michael Kinane	Michael Stoute	Sheikh Mohammed	2:06.25
1994	Ezzoud	5	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	Maktoum Al Maktoum	2:04.70
1995	Halling	4	Walter Swinburn	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:05.32
1996	Halling	5	John Reid	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:08.05
1997	Pilsudski	5	Michael Kinane	Michael Stoute	Lord Weinstock	2:12.51
1998	Daylami	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:06.82
1999	Compton Admiral	3	Darryll Holland	Gerard Butler	Erik Penser	2:06.42
2000	Giant's Causeway	3	George Duffield	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor	2:05.32
2001	Medicean	4	Kieren Fallon	Sir Michael Stoute	Cheveley Park Stud	2:04.65
2002	Hawk Wing	3	Michael Kinane	Aidan O'Brien	Sue Magnier	2:13.34
2003	Falbrav	5	Darryll Holland	Luca Cumani	Rencati / Yoshida	2:05.59
2004	Refuse to Bend	4	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	Godolphin	2:08.31
2005	Oratorio	3	Kieren Fallon	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor	2:07.00
2006	David Junior	4	Jamie Spencer	Brian Meehan	Roldvale Ltd	2:07.31
2007	Notnowcato	5	Ryan Moore	Sir Michael Stoute	A. & D. de Rothschild	2:05.85
2008	Mount Nelson	4	Johnny Murtagh	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Magnier / Tabor	2:05.56
2009	Sea the Stars	3	Michael Kinane	John Oxx	Christopher Tsui	2:03.40
2010	Twice Over	5	Tom Queally	Henry Cecil	Khalid Abdullah	2:04.64
2011	So You Think	5	Seamus Heffernan	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Magnier / Tabor / et al.	2:04.77

^a The 1973 running took place at Kempton Park.

Earlier winners

• 1886: Bendigo
• 1887: no race
• 1888: Orbit
• 1889: Ayrshire
• 1890: no race
• 1891: Surefoot
• 1892: Orme
• 1893: Orme
• 1894: Isinglass
• 1895: Le Justicier
• 1896: St Frusquin
• 1897: Persimmon
• 1898: Velasquez
• 1899: Flying Fox
• 1900: Diamond Jubilee
• 1901: Epsom Lad
• 1902: Cheers
• 1903: Ard Patrick
• 1904: Darley Dale
• 1905: Val d'Or
• 1906: Llangibby
• 1907: Lally

• 1908: Your Majesty
• 1909: Bayardo
• 1910: Lemberg / Neil Gow *
• 1911: Swynford
• 1912: Prince Palatine
• 1913: Tracery
• 1914: Hapsburg
• 1915–18: no race
• 1919: Buchan
• 1920: Buchan
• 1921: Craig an Eran
• 1922: Golden Myth
• 1923: Saltash
• 1924: Polyphontes
• 1925: Polyphontes
• 1926: Coronach
• 1927: Colorado
• 1928: Fairway
• 1929: Royal Minstrel
• 1930: Rustom Pasha
• 1931: Caerleon
• 1932: Miracle

• 1933: Loaningdale
• 1934: King Salmon
• 1935: Windsor Lad
• 1936: Rhodes Scholar
• 1937: Boswell
• 1938: Pasch
• 1939: Blue Peter
• 1940–45: no race
• 1946: Gulf Stream
• 1947: Migoli
• 1948: Petition
• 1949: Djeddah
• 1950: Flocon
• 1951: Mystery IX
• 1952: Tulyar
• 1953: Argur
• 1954: King of the Tudors
• 1955: Darius
• 1956: Tropique
• 1957: Arctic Explorer
• 1958: Ballymoss
• 1959: Saint Crespin

* The 1910 race was a dead-heat and has joint winners.

See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British flat horse races

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

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• galopp-sieger.de – Eclipse Stakes.
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Eclipse Stakes (2011).
• pedigreequery.com – Eclipse Stakes – Sandown Park.
• tbheritage.com – Eclipse Stakes.
• Abelson, Edward; John Tyrrel (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. pp. 106–109. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.