Eclipse Stakes
Group 1 race | |
Location | Sandown Park Esher, England |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1886 |
Race type | Flat / Thoroughbred |
Sponsor | Coral |
Website | Sandown Park |
Race information | |
Distance | 1m 1f 209y (2,002 m) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Right-handed |
Qualification | Three-years-old and up |
Weight | 8 st 11 lb (3yo); 9 st 7 lb (4yo+) Allowances 3 lb for fillies and mares |
Purse | £250,000 (2020) 1st: £141,775 |
2020 | ||
Ghaiyyath | Enable | Japan |
The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 209 yards (2,002 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.[1] 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 Enable, the 2017 Epsom Oaks winner, in 2019.
Records
Most successful horse (2 wins):
- Orme – 1892, 1893
- Buchan – 1919, 1920
- Polyphontes – 1924, 1925
- Mtoto – 1987, 1988
- Halling – 1995, 1996
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)
Leading trainer (6 wins):
- Alec Taylor, Jr. – Bayardo (1909), Lemberg (1910, dead-heat), Buchan (1919, 1920), Craig an Eran (1921), Saltash (1923)
- Sir Michael Stoute - Opera House (1993), Ezzoud (1994), Pilsudski (1996), Medicean (2001), Notnowcato (2007), Ulysses (2017)
Leading owner (6 wins): (includes part ownership)
- Godolphin - Halling (1995, 1996), Daylami (1998), Refuse to Bend (2004), Hawkbill (2016), Ghaiyyath (2020)
Winners
The race was not run from 1915-1918 because of World War I and from 1940-1945 because of World War II.
- ^ The 1973 running took place at Kempton Park
- ^ Trepan finished first in 1976, but he was later disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance
- ^ Three-year-olds were excluded from the 2020 running as part of race alterations due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
See also
References
- galopp-sieger.de – Eclipse Stakes.
- ifhaonline.org – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Eclipse Stakes (2019).
- pedigreequery.com – Eclipse Stakes – Sandown Park.
- tbheritage.com – Eclipse Stakes.
- Church, Michael (2000). Eclipse - The Horse - The Race - The Awards. Thoroughbred Advertising. p. 415. ISBN 0-9538939-0-1.
- Abelson, Edward; John Tyrrel (1993). The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. pp. 106–109. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.
- Race Recordings [1]
Specific
- ^ Wood, Greg (4 July 2003). "Nayef heads 14 rivals in Eclipse". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2012.