Constitution River and Ryan Moore on their way to victory in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse (Megan Coggin/The Jockey Club).
Breandán Ó hUallacháin
Constitution River (8/11 favourite) won the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, England, on Saturday to give Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien a record 10th success in the race.
The Coral-Eclipse is the first summer clash of the generations in Europe as the classic generation of three-year-old compete with older horses for the first time. Seven horses went to post for the Group 1 race over a mile one furlong and 79 yards on ground judged as Good to Firm (Good in places).
Constitution River and Hawk Mountain, the winner and runner-up in the Prix du Jockey Club [French Derby] at Chantilly on their last starts, were two of the three representatives from the powerful Ballydoyle-Coolmore team – the other being the pacemaker Flushing Meadows, with all of the Aidan O’Brien-prepared three-year-old colts by Wootton Bassett.
The main betting market rivals to Constitution River were Saddadd (4/1) from the Roger Varian yard, and the mount of Irish-born jockey Ray Dawson, along with Gethin (4/1), from the Owen Burrowes barn, and ridden by James Doyle.
Flushing Meadows Sets Blistering Pace
As expected, Flushing Meadows got to the front of the field shortly on breaking from the gates. He soon set a very fast pace in the hands of Seán Levey. Both Gethin and Hawk Mountain were prominent, with King’s Gambit and Constitution River a few lengths off the leaders. A Boy Named Susie, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, son of Aidan, and Saddadd, brought up the rear of the seven-runner contest – 12 lengths behind the pacesetter.
As they rounded the final bend and turned into the stretch, Flushing Meadows was maintaining his pacing duties in front of his stablemate Hawk Mountain, with Gethin third.
The latter claimed the lead at the two-furlong pole just as Constitution River was extricated from a pocket by Ryan Moore. With the field bearing down on the one-eights pole, the French Derby winner, Constitution River, took the lead, with A Boy Named Susie making noticeable improvement on the outside. Hawk Mountain, who had been prominent throughout, maintained his position in third on the rail.
Entering the closing stages of the Group 1, Constitution River put daylight between himself and A Boy Named Susie – who may be aimed at the Group 1 MVRC Cox Plate in Australia later this season – to run out a cosy three-length winner over the Oisín Murphy-ridden bay Starspangledbanner colt.
Hawk Mountain, winner of the Group 3 Prix de Guiche Stakes at Chantilly on 4 May, took third, a neck behind the runner-up. Saddadd and Gethin were fourth and fifth respectively, with King’s Gambit sixth, and Flushing Meadows last, having done a fantastic pace-setting job.
“We Always Thought The World Of Him”
“We’re delighted” was the initial reaction of Aidan O’Brien when interviewed by ITV Racing. “We’re over the moon with him. We always thought the world of him. We feel he’s a very special horse, and we always did.
“He is heavier today than he has ever been. Ryan (Moore, jockey) said he had to move a little earlier than he wanted. He is maturing – he’s a big scopey proper physical.”
Discussing possible targets such as the Juddmonte International at York, England, in August or the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, Ireland, in September, O’Brien said:
“He has no problem going to a mile-and-a-quarter; he has no problem going back to a mile, and he has no problem going up to a mile-and-a-half. I’d say all options are open to him.”
More Records Broken
Constitution River, a son of the late Coolmore Stud stallion, Wootton Bassett, ensured the Ballydoyle handler became the first conditioner to win the Coral-Eclipse four years in-a-row since its inception in 1886.
The Coolmore partners, the most successful owners in the history of the Group 1 contest were winning it for an incredible 10th time, following wins for Giant’s Causeway (2000), Hawk Wing (2002), Oratorio (2005), Mount Nelson (2008), So You Think (2011), St Mark’s Basilica (2021), Paddington (2023), City Of Troy (2024) and Delacroix (2025) – all of them trained at Ballydoyle by Aidan O’Brien.
The winning jockey, Ryan Moore, is the most successful current rider with six wins, namely Notnowcato (2006), St Mark’s Basilica (2021), Paddington (2023), City Of Troy (2024), Delacroix (2025) and Constitution River. He is now only one victory short of Lester Piggott’s record of seven wins in the Sandown Park showpiece.
It is only the 28th time in the long history of the race that the winner was trained outside of Britain, and it gave Irish-trained horses a 19th success – the first coming with Ballymoss in 1958.
Aidan O’Brien has now won 12 Group 1 races this year, including all three 1000 Guineas and Derbys of Ireland, Britain and France.
