Last year's runner-up Ombudsman tops 42 entries for Coral-Eclipse

Last year's runner-up Ombudsman tops 42 entries for the Group One Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on Saturday 4th July. 

The 10-furlong contest boasts a £1 million prize fund and this year marks Coral’s 51st year of sponsorship, making it the longest-running Pattern race sponsorship to be found anywhere in the world.

Coral’s David Stevens said: "Aidan O'Brien has entered a typically strong team as he bids for a record-extending 10th win in the race, while it's great to see the Aga Khan Studs enter the superstar pair of Calandagan and Daryz, but our opening favourite is Ombudsman, 3-1 to go one place better than he did in last year's contest."

The Coral-Eclipse was first run in 1886 and is Britain’s first major all-aged Group One contest of the season. It has previously been won by some of the sport’s greats including in recent years Sea The Stars, Golden Horn and Enable. As recently as 2024, the Coral-Eclipse winner City Of Troy was named the world’s joint-best racehorse in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings.

Coral first sponsored the Eclipse in 1976, with the 2026 running being the 51st to be staged under the Coral banner.

The Coral-Eclipse also includes two wildcard entries for the winners of the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de Diane, both run at Chantilly, France, in June, further enhancing its appeal to leading contenders from across Europe. 

As well as Calandagan and Daryz, notable French-trained entries for this year's renewal include Dolmalan (Mickael Delzangles), Facteur Cheval (Jerome Reynier) and Goliath (Francis-Henri Graffard).

Meanwhile, 20 Irish-trained entries include the 2000 Guineas runner-up Gstaad (Aidan O'Brien) and stablemate Minnie Hauk, along with fellow Ballydoyle resident Benvenuto Cellini who runs at Chester on Wednesday.