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Donnacha and A Boy out to defeat the old man in Eclipse
By Gavin Beech
Last Updated: Thu 2 Jul 2026
Donnacha O’Brien is hoping the decision to stick at 10 furlongs with A Boy Named Susie can pay dividends in Saturday’s £1 million Coral-Eclipse.
The Group One feature at Sandown has been dominated by Donnacha’s father Aidan in recent years and his French Derby one-two Constitution River and Hawk Mountain give him another strong hand.
However, A Boy Named Susie was not far behind those rivals when fourth at Chantilly, despite not getting the rub of the green as he tried to make headway around the inside.
Father and son - who will triumph on Saturday? (Healy Images)
Donnacha O’Brien has revealed that he had been weighing up the possibility of stepping up to a mile and a half in the Irish Derby but instead opted to stick to a mile and a quarter and have a crack at older rivals for the first time.
He said: “It was either this or the Irish Derby. We are kind of not sure about the twelve furlongs, as yet. It’s probably within his range but this is the kind of race we were working towards from the French Derby and there wasn’t any reason to change our mind.
“His doesn’t look like a mile and a half pedigree. The other thing is that at Chantilly you are turning from a long way out and that means the pace naturally goes out of the race and it just turns into a mile and a quarter that’s not as stiff as it looks.
“A stiff mile and a half at the Curragh... we knew the pace would be on and looking back at it, I’m kind of glad we didn’t go there because it turned into a real test of stamina and it turned into a real grind in the last furlong or two.”
Reflecting on the French Derby, O’Brien said: “I think the pace was pretty hot early and that’s been overlooked. Dad’s horse went very quick early from wide draws and when you look at the horses that followed them in fourth and fifth, finished nowhere in the end.
“Looking at the race, you’d say we were a bit unlucky because we flashed home but I wouldn’t say it was guaranteed that any horse that used that much petrol to go with them early would have finished as strong as what he did."
A Boy Named Susie faces no easy task in what looks a warm renewal of the Coral-Eclipse, and O’Brien is under no illusions just how big a performance it will require if he is to take the prize back to Ireland.
“It looks like a strong race. Constitution River looks a good horse, Gethin looks a good horse, Saddad the same, it’s a proper strong Group One and whatever wins it will have to be a very good horse,” he said.
Aidan triple-handed with seven declared
Aidan O’Brien will launch a three-pronged assault in search of a fourth-straight Coral-Eclipse on Saturday, with his French Derby one-two Constitution River and Hawk Mountain the stand-out names amongst seven declarations for the Sandown feature.
The master of Ballydoyle has won the Group One a record nine times, with Giant’s Causeway getting the ball rolling in 2000 and the likes of Hawk Wing (2002) and City Of Troy (2024) also featuring amongst O’Brien’s list of winners in this event.
This time around it is Constitution River who is favourite to add his name to the decorated roll of honour, arriving in Esher unbeaten since finishing second on his debut last summer and having ousted his stablemate Hawk Mountain for Classic honours in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly.
Constitution River: Set to go off favourite for the Eclipse
Flushing Meadows will join Constitution River and Hawk Mountain in action for the Coolmore team, with stablemate Causeway not declared, while the Irish challenge is bolstered by Donnacha O’Brien’s A Boy Named Susie who was fourth behind his father’s main players in the French Derby last time.
Hopes of a British-trained success appear to rest with Owen Burrows’ Gethin who returns to Sandown having pushed Ombudsman close in the Brigadier Gerard in late May, while Roger Varian’s Saddadd also brings smart course form to the table and was third in the Tattersalls Gold Cup most recently.
Harry Charlton’s King’s Gambit completes the field of seven set to face the starter.
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