Golden Horn looks formidable in Coral-Eclipse

The Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes on Saturday at Sandown Park could be viewed as a two-horse race – unless one thinks that is one contender too many.

Golden Horn, the smashing Epsom Derby winner who has yet to be beaten, steps quickly out of 3-year-old-restricted competition and tackles older foes just one month after his Derby win, and bettors are not viewing him as vulnerable. Antepost wagering has Golden Horn a 4-11 favorite, making him a strong choice over the other primary contender, The Grey Gatsby at 7-2.

The odds gap comes in part because Golden Horn has looked so impressive in his racing, but also because he gets a major break in the weights, toting 122 pounds compared with the 133 his older rivals will shoulder. It has been six years since a 3-year-old won the Eclipse, worth about $702,000 this year. Sea the Stars, another Derby winner, was the most recent such winner. Is Golden Horn in the same class as the vaunted Sea the Stars? Too early to tell, but the possibility can’t be ruled out.

Trained by John Gosden for owner A.E. Oppenheimer, Golden Horn, a son of Cape Cross, won his lone race at 2 and has been flawless in three starts this year, stepping into group stakes company with a 2 3/4-length score over Jack Hobbs – another Gosden charge – in the Dante before beating that same rival by 3 1/2 lengths in the Derby.

Multiple wins over the same horse should rouse skepticism in handicappers, but that might be misplaced in this case. Jack Hobbs came back to win the Group 1 Irish Derby last weekend by five lengths over Storm the Stars, the horse who finished second to Golden Horn in the latter’s lone start last year. Jack Hobbs has beaten every foe he’s met save Golden Horn and could provide a stronger challenge this time around.

The turnback in trip from 12 furlongs to a touch over 10 Saturday might only benefit Golden Horn, whose owner initially expressed concern over trying the Derby’s 1 1/2-mile route. The turf condition is forecast as good-to-firm, also a plus for Golden Horn.

The Grey Gatsby won the French Derby and the Irish Champion last year at 3 and, after a slow start to his 2015 campaign, got back on track with a good second-place finish June 17 in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which he was trapped inside for much of the stretch run. He’s the clear danger to Golden Horn, with Cougar Mountain, Western Hymn, and Tullius all longshots of varying degrees.