The 50th annual Coral Eclipse at Sandown saw arguably the ride of the season so far by Ryan Moore as Delacroix came back from nowhere to land Aiden O’Brien his 9th Eclipse, but it was the horses ‘exceptional turn of foot’ which jockey Ryan Moore said got him the beat on William Buick and Ombudsman
Delacroix, a horse who had an underwhelming trip over a mile and a half at Epsom in which Moore called, “a mess”, had previously gone unbeaten over 10f, and his return to the distance at Sandown earlier today highlighted how impressive he can be over the trip. But, after the impressive victory, Moore reiterated how the three year old is a mile horse, saying, “he gets the 10f, he is unbeaten at 10f, but he has the pace for a mile”, in hopes that going forward Delacroix may be a bigger threat over a preferred mile trip.
Nevertheless, both Moore, and O’Brien are incredibly impressed with the run displayed by their superstar three year old today, and after entering the Eclipse as the only horse not to have won a group one, Moore said how thankful he was that he had finally got one under his belt.
With entries at Goodwood in July, and York in August, followed by a run at Leopardstown in September, they Ballydoyle team will aim to test him over a mile, and over a mile and two over the coming months, Moore saying O’Brien has, “plenty of options”, with what he wants to do with the impressive bay colt. A staggering turn of foot on a tricky course, and an impressive win against the monstrous Ombudsman in his redemption race, Delacroix is a star to look out for, and a horse Moore said, “has always shown lots of talent.”
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