There will be no shortage of opposition for Australian champion So You Think when he lines up for what is expected to be his final career start in the G1 Coral Eclispe Stakes at Sandown in the UK this weekend.
Photo by Studs
Plans remain fluid but owners Coolmore Stud have indicated that So You Think is likely to be retired after the Eclipse to meet the time frame required for him to return to Australia for the start of his stud career in NSW this spring.
So You Think won the Eclipse Stakes last year and Coolmore is eager for a repeat in Saturday's prestigious 10 furlong event to give the six-year-old his 11th Group One victory.
First acceptances for the Eclipse were taken on Monday and the 15 horses left in contention promise to provide a much deeper field than the line-up So You Think beat at his latest start in the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The first acceptances include last year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Nathaniel, Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso, Dubai Duty Free winner Cityscape, 2010 Eclipse winner Twice Over and Italian G1 winner Crackerjack King, now part-owned by an Australian syndicate and likely to be racing in Melbourne this spring.
Others include Godolphin's emerging star Farhh, an unlucky third behind So You Think in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, Prix Ganay runner-up Giofra and the high class three-year-old Bonfire.
Crackerjack King is yet to race in the UK for his new trainer Marco Botti. Ryan Moore is likely to take the ride in the Eclipse.
A winner of seven of his eight starts to date, his only failure came in the Prix du Jockey Club last year on soft ground.
Botti said, "Crackerjack King has worked well and he is in very good form. The Eclipse will be a very competitive race but I think the stiff finish at Sandown will really suit him and it is his best trip."
Meanwhile trainer Ed Dunlop has reaffirmed his Melbourne Cup plans for last year's runner-up Red Cadeaux following his third in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The Newmarket trainer reported the six-year-old had taken his latest run in his stride.
"He's come out of the race well. No plans of where he will go next but it will be back to Australia for the Melbourne Cup," Dunlop said.
