Coral-Eclipse Betting Tips: Billy Grimshaw’s Big Race Preview & Best Bet

The Coral Eclipse is always one of the great midsummer races, but this year’s Sandown showpiece has a proper tactical edge to it. Constitution River is the obvious starting point after winning the Prix du Jockey Club, and Aidan O’Brien has a strong hand with Hawk Mountain and Flushing Meadows also in the field. Gethin and Saddadd give the older horses a serious domestic challenge, while A Boy Named Susie adds further depth to the three-year-old form. I can see why the favourite is short, but I am not convinced this is a race to be taking odds-on in. The Chantilly form is strong, but the gap between the front two in France was not huge, and Sandown may give the runner-up a real chance to get closer.

Constitution River is clearly the most likely winner on paper and there is no great mystery about why he heads the market. He was impressive at Chester, then proved himself at the highest level when landing the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly. He travels strongly, he has a turn of foot, and he gets the three-year-old weight allowance in a race that has been very kind to the Classic generation in recent years. If he improves again, he may simply be too good and could be the fourth three year old Ballydoyle colt to taste success here in as many years.

Even so, I would not want to be steaming into him at a cramped price. He had to work in France and Hawk Mountain was only three-quarters of a length behind him at the line. That does not scream odds-on shot against 5/1 shot to me, especially when the runner-up is also trained by O’Brien and arrives with fewer questions than most. I also think the pace scenario matters. Flushing Meadows should go forward and make sure this is not a messy crawl, while Hawk Mountain has the draw and tactical speed to sit in the right place. At Sandown, that can be half the battle.

Gethin is the one I fear most from the older brigade. His second to Ombudsman in the Brigadier Gerard over course and distance reads very well now, and he has done little wrong in his career. The concern is that he could need things to fall perfectly from stall one, particularly if the Ballydoyle runners get control of the race. Saddadd is another solid contender with course-and-distance form, but this is a deeper race than the one he won here earlier in the season.

The more I look at this race, the more I think HAWK MOUNTAIN has to be the bet at the prices. He is not some exposed outsider trying to nick a place. He is a high-class three-year-old who got very close to the favourite in a French Classic and now gets another crack at him over the same sort of trip. Constitution River may confirm the form, of course, but the market has treated that Chantilly result as though there was a much bigger gap between them than there really was. Perhaps the Ryan Moore tax is in play, too, but I don't mind taking him on when the time is right.

I also like the fact Hawk Mountain should be straightforward tactically. With Flushing Meadows likely to ensure a proper gallop, Wayne Lordan should be able to get him into a sensible rhythm rather than having to ride a waiting race from too far back. That matters at Sandown, where you do not want to be caught flat-footed turning in. If Constitution River is as good as the market says, then fair enough, but Hawk Mountain has enough class to make him work and enough value in his price to make him the better betting proposition.

A Boy Named Susie is interesting for those looking for something at a bigger price, as his French Derby fourth was not a bad effort at all, but I am not convinced he has the tactical pace to reverse the form with both Ballydoyle colts. Gethin and Saddadd are very likeable, but this may come down to whether the three-year-old Classic form is as strong as it looked. I think it is, but I do not think the favourite is the only way to play it. The one I want to be with is HAWK MOUNTAIN.