Can Paddington win his third Grade 1 on the spin and take his amazing streak to six wins in the last six races? Here the 2023 Coral Eclipse at Sandown Park betting preview.
Coral Charge Stakes
Grade 3 – Purse $100,000 – 5 furlongs 10 yards – Turf – 3-Year-Olds and Up
Six of this field recently did battle in the Group 1 Kings Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot just over two weeks ago and one that ran very well was Equilateral who finished in fifth spot. The morning line odds are a fair price, and for a horse that had finished second two back in the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock, and is clearly in fine form, his chance to hit the board is strong and he’ll be stalking the early speed.
One who finished behind Equilateral in that race is Marshman who won in this spot on his seasonal debut when taking the Grade 3 Prix Sigy at Chantilly in April. However, he has not progressed from that and the jury is still out on this one.
The likely chalk for the race is Annaf for the Mick Appleby barn. He was third in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes and was a strong closer that day at odds of. He was the same odds when finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Duke Of York Clipper Stakes back in May. Those two good efforts were sandwiched with a poor effort in between and his record of five career wins from seventeen starts looks good on paper but most of those have come at a lower level, and he is another with something still to prove against graded stakes foes.
Looking at horses that may well be on the speed and a couple of those are Diligent Harry and Lady Hamana, who has raced either on or near the speed. Both of these look outclassed here and will do well to hit the board but will set this up for a closer.
With that in mind, the big longshot Existant could be interesting, especially for exotics players. He does not win that often (3 from 23) but was fourth in this race last year beaten just a length. The pace will need to be electric early for him to get involved but Sandown’s 5 furlongs is a speedy track and this one could well hit the board in a very open race.
Coral Charge Stakes Odds & Betting Pick
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by Jazzsports |
| Marshman | Ryan Moore | +550 |
| Annaf | Rossa Ryan | +600 |
| Equilateral | Jamie Spencer | +650 |
| Get Ahead | Pat Dobbs | +700 |
| Equality | William Buick | +800 |
| Tiber Flow | Tom Marquand | +800 |
| Raasel | Jason Watson | +1000 |
| Diligent Harry | Kieran Shoemark | +1400 |
| Lady Hamana | Andrea Atzeni | +1800 |
| Makarova | Hollie Doyle | +2000 |
| Existent | Jason Hart | +2500 |
Annaf has the best piece of form in the race with his Grade 1 third last time but he is not the most consistent and at slightly bigger odds, Equilateral looks like a firm play to hit the board.
It is such an open race this year and a chance is taken on EXISTANT being able to close late and cause a bit of a shock here.
Marshman and the improving Get Ahead are strong challengers and will surely be in the frame when the cameraman takes the pictures.
Coral Eclipse Stakes
Grade 1 – Purse $938,000 – 1 mile 1 furlong 209 yards – Turf – 3-Year-Olds and Up
Can Paddington win his third Grade 1 on the spin and take his amazing streak to six wins in the last six races?
We have a disappointing field of just four that turnout for this elite contest in what looks like a match race between the chalk, the Aidan O’Brien trained Paddington who was last seen defeating the English 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean in the Grade 1 St James Palace Stakes, and the mare Emily Upjohn who was last seen showing a devastating turn of speed to win the Grade 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom where she beat the top class, Westover.
Paddington stepped up his game last time, traveling in hand behind a strong pace before asserting approaching the furlong pole and widening clear to win by three and three-quarter lengths in impressive fashion.
That took his streak to five in a row and he is now five from six in career starts. Before that win, he had already broken through at Grade 1 level by winning the Irish 2000 Guineas, again going clear late to win by two lengths. He is a worthy favorite and as the only three-year-old in the race, he gets a nice 10lb allowance from the top two and 7 lbs from his main rival Emily Upjohn.
When we look at the Gosden inmate, she was very unlucky not to win last year’s Grade 1 Classic The Oaks Stakes, and after that failed to run her race next time before bouncing back to win the Grade 1 British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes at Ascot at the end of 2022.
She is another who likes to be held up off the pace and it will be interesting to see tactics over this much shorter trip today. She is already a winner at Sandown over this distance but not against a horse of Paddington’s caliber, and we could see her make the running today and try and test Paddington’s stamina.
Her win first time out this season was breathtaking, showing a smart turn of speed to go five lengths clear before being heavily geared down at the wire.
The other two in the race are Dubai Honour and West Wind Blows but they both have a tough task under these weight conditions.
Coral Eclipse Odds & Betting Prediction
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by Jazzsports |
| Emily Upjohn | William Buick | +125 |
| Paddington | Ryan Moore | +125 |
| Dubai Honour | Tom Marquand | +1200 |
| West Wind Blows | Jamie Spencer | +2500 |
It looks like a match race on paper and we have two of the best jockeys (Dettori) on Emily Upjohn and (Moore) on Paddington doing battle.
The marginal vote has to go to PADDINGTON at the weights but the mare will be no pushover, and it will be interesting if Dettori goes to the speed early.
West Wind Blows is outclassed, so Dubai Honour looks booked for the third spot and is no forlorn hope to cause an upset if the top two on the boards get into a battle early in the long Sandown stretch.
Check out the 2023 Coral Eclipse Stakes Recap here
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