Coral Eclipse Stakes 2011 - Snow Fairy against heavyweights So You Think and Workforce
Who will oust who in the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, will remain a mystery until 2 July when the much anticipated results of the ultimate showdown will come in?
Dented by defeat, the Royal Ascot runner-up, So You Think, will be looking to redeem himself in the Coral Eclipse Stakes against the might of Sir Michael Stout’s Arc and Derby winner, Workforce.
The bettors have certainly favoured the New Zealand champion, So You Think, but not all goes according to the pre-race assumptions. Things could dramatically change on the field if the late season starter, Snow Fairy, has something to say about her absence
from the racing scene for almost 8 months.
So You Think should have won the Prince of Wales’s Stakes with jockey Ryan Moore but this time around Seamie Heffernan will have a taste of the five year old bay colt at Sandown and there is something about the jockey that makes the pair look even better.
Ryan Moore made a crucial mistake in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, when he committed for home at the 3 furlongs pole, and, that is committing suicide no matter who you are. That gave Rewilding the opportunity to time his run perfectly, since Moore made his
intentions perfectly clear in the first half of the race.
But Heffernan will show on 2 July, how the colt should be run at Sandown, and, if he had his way he probably would have bagged the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. Seamie Heffernan has run in some big races throughout his career and he knows how to soak up the
pressure before and during a big race.
A good choice by trainer, Aidan O’Brien, this will be Heffernan’s second time with So You Think. He rode the colt for the first time at the Curragh on 2 May 2011 and won the Group 3 Mooresbridge Stakes.
Workforce has become a powerful force this year around but Sir Michael Stout’s bay colt was a fragile one last year. His mount will be Ryan Moore for the Coral Eclipse Stakes.
It is still to be seen how the assistance will go but Workforce this year has smoothed things by winning the Brigadier Gerard Stakes in May and certainly looks the people’s favourite despite So You Think getting better odds.
The heavyweight duo is over shadowing the rest of the small yet strong field. The dual Oaks winner last year Snow Fairy had her last run in the Hong Kong Cup in December, which she won.
It is obviously going to be a difficult race with three top class horses competing in it and if Snow Fairy wins bettors will have a field day.
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