Mukhadram to Win “The Eclipse”

The betting market for today’s feature race, the group 1 Coral Eclipse at Sandown Park is too tempting to ignore. The top of the market is headed by record time breaking Royal Ascot scorer The Fugue and she is a worthy favourite on the official good/firm ground. However, with no value in her price over this stiff 1m2f trip the 16/1 about Mukhadram looks very big indeed.

In my book despite a high draw he should be around an 8/1 shot as his run at Royal Ascot was not his true running despite finishing just over 4 lengths behind The Fugue. They tried to hold him up that day and it just didn’t work and the noises are that he will revert to front running tactics which suits him best as shown back in March when 2^nd in the Dubai World Cup. Trading Leather is the only other front runner in the field and he is better over a mile and a half so may not have the tactical speed to lay up with Mukhadram.

The three year olds bring a lot of intrigue to this renewal of the Eclipse but all having serious question marks to answer despite the generous weight for age allowances allowing them compete off 11lbs lower than the elder colts. Kingston Hill could end up a non-runner once again this weekend with good/firm ground not to his liking and he would have been a huge danger if more rain had arrived. Night of thunder & War Command have stamina questions on their first try over this longer trip while True Story has proved slightly disappointing since winning the “Feilden Stakes” on his seasonal debut.

Verrazano ran well to finish second in the Queen Anne behind Toronado but it’s hard to warm to his big galloping type. He looks rather one paced against the top milers and this trip looks worth a try but he is not certain to last home either similar to Night of Thunder and War Command. Sometimes, it’s best to stick with the proven performers with the race conditions today much harder than at Royal Ascot for The Fugue to finish ahead of Mukhadram.

Selection: 1 Point *EW Mukhadram Sandown15:50 at 16/1 PaddyPower, Ladbrokes & Stanjames

Best of luck,

Nicky

Bet Alchemist