Europe: Constitution River rides four-win streak into Eclipse

Saturday’s Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Sandown Park near London is an annual opportunity for 3-year-olds to race against older horses for the first time.

In this decade, the advantage has been with the 3-year-olds, who have won the last five runnings. The streak may continue if French Derby winner Constitution River runs to expectations on Saturday.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Constitution River is on a four-race winning streak that began with a victory in a maiden race at Galway Racecourse in Ireland last July. In the French Derby at 1 5/16 miles at Chantilly Racecourse on May 31, Constitution River stalked the pace in a field of 16 and took the lead with more than a furlong remaining. He won by three-quarters of a length over Hawk Mountain, who is part of the field for the $1.32 million Eclipse Stakes.

In early betting on Thursday, Constitution River was the 11-10 favorite, while Hawk Mountain was 11-2. Constitution River, by Wootton Bassett, races for the Coolmore syndicate and Georg Von Opel.

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O’Brien has won a record nine runnings of the Eclipse Stakes, including the last three with Paddington, City of Troy, and Delacroix.

Saturday’s race has four 3-year-olds and three older horses. The group of older horses is led by Gethin, a 4-year-old colt who will have his Group 1 debut in the Eclipse.

Listed as the 4-1 second choice as of Thursday, Gethin was second by a neck to 2-5 favorite Ombudsman in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Sandown on May 28 in his group stakes debut.

Gethin, trained by Owen Burrows, has won 3 of 6 starts. He is by Ghaiyyath, the winner of the 2020 Eclipse Stakes, which did not include 3-year-olds that year because of revisions made to conditions of British racing in the early months of the pandemic.

Ombudsman, second to Delacroix in the 2025 Eclipse, has won seven stakes, including two Group 1 races this year – the Dubai Turf in the United Arab Emirates in March and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17.

Ombudsman, trained by John and Thady Gosden, was the even-money favorite in the future book for the Eclipse Stakes as of last week, when he was withdrawn from consideration in favor of the Group 1 Juddmonte International at York Racecourse on Aug. 19.

Post time for the Eclipse Stakes is 10:35 a.m. Eastern.

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