Twice Over overshadows field in Eclipse Stakes
Twice Over won a thrilling finish to the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park as he ended Henry Cecil’s 32-year wait for a fourth winner in the race.
Cecil had last trained the winner of this race in 1978 when Gunner B won but since then had endured four seconds, which had included his Derby winner Reference Point in 1987, and as many thirds, the most painful of which was the debacle of Bosra Sham 10 years later.
Twice Over was his 17th attempt since Gunner B and for a few, heart-stopping moments, looked as though he might add to that losing streak.
The field was reduced to five when Mawatheeq was withdrawn, having refused to enter the stalls. Dar Re Mi was first out of the stalls but, fearing a muddling pace, Tom Queally sent Twice Over into the lead halfway down the back straight. The jockey was still thinking about the horse’s run in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot 17 days before when he was trapped for room early on and then had to make up ground to finish a half-length second to Byword.
This time Queally took it up early in the back straight and then opened up a three-length gap early in the home straight.
Two furlongs out Twice Over looked set for a decisive victory but there was a moment of panic when Twice Over began to idle in the last furlong. Both Philip Robison, who was riding Sri Putra, and Johnny Murtagh, on Viscount Nelson, sensed that the leader might by vulnerable and began to slice into that advantage. “There wasn’t a lot of pace on – William went on but he dawdled along and I didn’t want that. On his runs last year I wouldn’t have dreamt of making the running. But this year he looked like he was staying on really well at the end – although I was screaming for the line at the end.”
His calls were answered as Twice Over held the determined late challenge by Sri Putra to win a by a half-length with Viscount Nelson the same distance away in third.
Winning favourites are never unpopular but they do not usually draw a crowd 10-deep around the winner’s enclosure to give three cheers to the trainer. But then not all trainers are Henry Cecil. The story of how Cecil has overcome problems, both professional and personal, has been a thread that has been woven into the tapestry of the sport in recent years. “The way the public here clapped,” he said, as his voice trailed off and he pointed to the emotional lump in his throat.
Calm restored, Cecil said: “Tom and I decided that, if there wasn’t any pace, we didn’t want him messing about with a two-furlong sprint. It worked well because, when he quickened up he just took those two or three lengths. He’d got the field beaten but, in the end, he’d been in the front too long. It’s a very stiff uphill and he was just getting a bit lazy as much as anything else.
“It’s great to see him win. I think he was unlucky at Ascot – some people might disagree with me – and it’s nice to see him win another Group One. I don’t like making excuses but he never got a run at all. He made a lot of ground up. And well done to my staff, like Graham Purse who rides him every day. And it’d the team that does it not just me. Tom gave him a great ride. He’s doing so well and he’s a great jockey to look forward to in future years too.”
There were plenty who thought that Cecil belonged to the past but one who remained steadfast was Twice Over’s owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, who was winning this race for the first time since Dancing Brave in 1986. “I said to the prince I wish every day was like this but you can’t be spoilt, can you? I’m very pleased for the prince. He’s a marvellous person to train for and a great friend and I’m very lucky,” Cecil said.
Those who wish to detract can point out that this year’s Eclipse lacked a star-name three-year-old but Cecil was too busy thinking of his next move, and possibly next year as well. “He’s in everything – the Juddmonte, the Champion, and we might have another go at the Dubai World Cup,” he said. “I’d like to have another go at that – I thought he’d win it this year and it just didn’t go right. He was drawn all wrong, he hit himself and just didn’t race. I know there’s no such thing as a good thing but I did think he was one.”
“I love these older horses. The breed is maturing later and, when you’ve got a good older horse, they have such an advantage over the three-year-olds probably until King George time.”
For Queally the victory had added resonance because he has developed a strong relationship with the horse. “I’m delighted for Henry and the prince and more so the horse himself,” he said. “He’s a wonderful character, a lovely personality. I’ve ridden him work from day one, even when Hughsie [Richard Hughes] was retained jockey and I was just mad about him as a horse.”
Cecil is probably a bit keen too.
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