Sandown Eclipse Day Best Bets
- Ombudsman to win the Coral-Eclipse (3.35pm) - 11/10 with BetVictor
- Treasure Time to win the Coral Challenge (2.25pm) - 11/4 with Betfred
- Arabian Light to win Coral Golden Rewards Shaker Handicap (5.15pm) - 9/2 with Virgin Bet
The biggest day of Sandown Park’s Flat racing season is upon us. It’s a race in which trainers from outside the UK have dominated in recent years.
After Aidan O’Brien sent out So You Think to win the 2011 renewal, Britain dominated this Group 1 contest for nine successive years but there has been no winner from these shores since Charlie Appleby saddled Ghaiyyath to win in 2020.
Unsurprisingly, O’Brien bookended that period of British success when St Mark’s Basilica won four years ago and he’s now trained three of the last four winners, with only Vadeni breaking that sequence, in 2022, for France’s Jean-Claude Rouget.
We’ve taken a look at all seven races on the cards, selecting at least one tip for each race using the best odds from horse racing betting sites.
Coral-Eclipse Betting Preview
There’s representation again from both Aidan O’Brien and France, this time through Andre Fabre as the ‘away’ teams attempt to extend their good recent record in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse (3.35pm).
However, this time it looks like they’ve met their match in Ombudsman, who represents the Gosdens, John and Thady. When the sole licensee, John Gosden trained four winners of the 1m2f event, the most recent being the brilliant filly Enable, in 2019.
He knows precisely the type required to get up that stiff Sandown hill and Ombudsman’s impressive Royal Ascot success last time, in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, certainly showed a penchant for a stamina sapping climb to the winning post.
Ironically, Ombudsman’s only defeat came over Saturday’s course and distance, when he found Almaqam too good in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes in April. He did, however, concede 3lb to Ed Walker’s charge on that occasion, so really lost no caste in defeat and his upward curve steepened at Royal Ascot.
Anything saddled on these shores by Andre Fabre merits more than a passing glance and triple Longchamp Group 1 winner Sosie is still heading in the right direction judged on his latest success in the Prix D’Ispahan. However, he likes some ease in the ground and the Esher conditions will be plenty quick enough for him.
There is little to choose between the pair that represent Ballydoyle, Camille Pissarro and Delacroix. Prix du Jockey Club winner Camille Pisarro hasn’t yet shown a level of form that suggests he can beat a fully firing selection but Delacroix, who failed to handle the track when favourite with betting sites for last month’s Derby, may still have more to come if he can put that run behind him. He’d be the more feared of the pair.
Coral-Eclipse tip: Ombudsman to win - 11/10 with BetVictor
Coral Challenge Best Bets
The Coral Challenge (2.25pm) is a 1m handicap that has seen only two of the last 10 winners return an SP of greater than 11/2 on betting apps, so it pays to concentrate on those towards the head of the market. Greek Order ran a blinder when fourth in the Royal Hunt Cup last time, his debut for Michael Bell. He’s gone up 2lb for that fourth-placed effort, when he finished second in the nearside group.
Classic Encounter produced a career best when scoring over York’s 1m1f trip last time and this stiff mile should suit. However, William Haggas has saddled the winner of this race twice in the last six seasons and can make it three from seven with Treasure Time.
The four-year-old showed improvement towards the end of last season. He holds an entry in York’s prestigious John Smith’s Cup next weekend and whether he goes there or not, any improvement from him here would make him look well treated.
Earlier, there are some dashers on display in the Coral Charge (1.50pm) and, as ever at Sandown, the draw on the sprint course can make a difference. A low draw is generally a positive in these contests and Kerdos just about ticks that box, coming from stall five.
He went off at 66/1 for the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (5f) at Royal Ascot and put a couple of lesser efforts behind him when finishing two length fifth that day. That wasn’t far off his best form and now that he’s on the way back this could be the time to catch him.
Coral Challenge tip: Treasure Time to win - 11/4 with Betfred
Golden Rewards Shaker Handicap
Arabian Light is the class act in this handicap (5.15pm). He was well beaten on the less favoured nearside in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot last time.
I think we can forgive him that and the form of his Newmarket third in May looks a much more reliable yardstick. Pedigree suggests he should give a good account now stepped up to 1m2f and he looks the value bet in the finale.
Meanwhile, Keble Spirit, who made the step out into handicap company a winning one at Yarmouth last time, is in with a chance in the Coral ‘Pipped-At-The-Post’ Handicap (4.45pm) while Jupiter Ammon is another Andrew Balding representative who piques interest on his handicap debut.
Dissident and the more exposed Antelope are not ruled out but Yabher looked like he is about to go to greater things.
Golden Rewards Shaker Handicap tip: Arabian Light to win - 9/2 with Virgin Bet
Please Gamble Responsibly
When having a bet, it’s vital to practice responsible gambling. Horse racing betting can be addictive, so bettors should take precautions to keep themselves safe when using gambling sites.
Every licensed UK betting site offers safer gambling tools, such as deposit limits, time outs, self-assessment questionnaires and self-exclusion options.
These are free tools to help punters stay in control and they are available at various gambling sites, including online bookmakers, casino sites, slot sites, and poker sites.
These operators may offer punters free bets or casino bonuses from time to time, but it's important to treat these rewards with caution.
Read the terms and conditions before accepting any bonus as most new casino sites will require you to place a cash bet before handing out any bonus.
Always remember that betting is meant to be fun. It should never be viewed as a way to make money.
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