Ulysses wins the 2017 Coral-Eclipse at Sandaown Park for Sir Michael Stout under Champion Jockey, Jim Crowley.
In a really close, battling finish, Ulysses got first run on Godolphin’s Barney Roy, ridden by James Doyle, before winning by just a nose in an exciting photo finish.
The win means Sir Michael Stout has won eight Eclipses, which is the most any trainer has ever lifted – a record he shares with early 20th Century trainer, Alec Taylor.
Stout – along with most of the crowd at a packed Sandown – was not sure he had won the Group One event, though, and speaking after the race said ““I wasn’t sure if he’d won. I didn’t have a good angle on it but even if you’d been stood on the line it would have been hard to tell. It was very close. He’s an admirable horse.”
Richard Hannon, who trained the second, Barney Roy, who came oh-so-close, said ““In the initial 10 minutes you are gutted when you’ve been beaten by a nose. In an hour’s time I’ll be delighted. The best is still to come, for sure. He’s a good horse getting better. It was only his fourth run.”
The winner’s odds of 8/1 reflect that this was far and away the 4 year old colt’s best ever performance, and really franks the form of the impressive Highland Reel, who beat him last time out at Royal Ascot.
2017 Coral-Eclipse Results – Places
- Ulysses 8/1
- Barney Roy 9/4
- Desert Encounter 50/1