Delacroix bounced back from his ninth-place finish as the Derby favorite and landed a thrilling renewal of the Eclipse Stakes on Saturday at Sandown Racecourse in England.
That Delacroix won the Group 1 Eclipse over 1 1/4 miles came as no real surprise: He was, after all, Derby favorite for a reason. The way in which he won – that was the surprise.
Between the time of his winning career debut last July and even through a tame 3-year-old bow in the Dante Stakes on May 15, The Lion In Winter held antepost favoritism for the Derby at Epsom Downs.
The Lion In Winter did make the Derby – but that’s about all that can be said of his performance June 7. Sixth in the Dante at odds-on, The Lion In Winter finished 14th in the Derby at 7-1, and on Sunday at Deauville Racecourse a colt broadly assumed to suit 1 1/2-mile racing gets cut back to a sprint distance in the Prix Jean Prat.
The Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park draws the dividing line between the spring classics and the important middle-distance races of summer and autumn, a 1 1/4-mile contest that brings together leading 3-year-olds and upper-crust older horses. The sophomore set gets 10 pounds from older male rivals, yet the antepost betting markets on Thursday said even that’s not enough.
By Leo Schlink
Zac Purton hailed David Eustace’s horsemanship after Light Years Charm (129lb) continued impressive progress with victory in the HK$2.84 million Class 2 Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Tuesday (1 July).
Sold for A$3,750 (approx. HK$18,500), the Rubick gelding (129lb) took his Hong Kong earnings to HK$9.2 million from only nine starts in the city with a third successive win after withstanding a ferocious late challenge from Mickley (117lb) to prevail by a head in 1m 21.11s.
Benno Yung’s training career will come to a close at the end of this season in Hong Kong and the 66-year-old horseman is proud to depart the official ranks with fond memories and cherished lifelong friendships after the 2024/25 Season Finale on 16 July at Happy Valley.
Yung retires after being licenced since the 2013/14 term. He’s trained 359 winners across the 12-season period and is admired for his stable’s consistency as well as his own resilience to return to racing amidst an acute myeloid leukaemia battle last year.
Sha Tin Selections
(Tuesday, July 01, 2025)
Race 1: #9 Tradition, #4 Chateau Le Peche, #10 Mr Aladdin, #3 Leather Master
Race 2: #8 Robot Lucky Star, #1 Heroic Master, #2 Multidutch, #13 Amazing Galaxy
Race 3: #1 Fortunate Son, #2 Spirit Of Peace, #9 Bull Attitude, #4 Mighty Steed
Race 4: #11 Autumn Delight, #2 Lunar Dash, #1 Wonderstar, #4 Diriya
Race 5: #3 Young Champion, #4 Light Years Charm, #11 Brilliant Express, #5 Soleil Fighter
If ever a horse lacking a Group 1 win deserved one, it was Calandagan. Second-best in four straight Group 1 races, Calandagan was second to none Sunday in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Calandagan, a 4-year-old Aga Khan homebred trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, had finished second last summer in the Juddmonte International, second last fall in the Champion Stakes, second this spring in the Sheema Classic, and second June 6 in the Coronation Cup.
It didn’t come as easily as the Derby at Epsom three weeks ago, but Lambourn became a dual Derby winner Sunday at The Curragh when he captured the Irish Derby by three-quarters of a length over his longshot stablemate Serious Contender.
The Irish Derby does seem to come easily for trainer Aidan O’Brien: Lambourn was his 17th winner in the 1 1/2-mile classic.
Lambourn’s Derby win at Epsom, which followed victory in the Chester Vase, came as a mild surprise, but not Sunday’s. He went off at odds of 2-5 and paid $2.80 on the American tote.
By Leo Schlink
With only 50 races remaining in the 2024/25 season, Zac Purton has secured an eighth Hong Kong jockeys’ championship with a treble at Sha Tin on Saturday (28 June) to hold an unassailable 59-win lead over nearest rival Hugh Bowman.
Purton, 42, struck aboard Gentlemen Legacy, Copartner Fleet and Fashion Legend to claim a fourth successive championship. The Australian previously claimed the jockeys’ title in 2013/14, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 and now has a record 1,866 Hong Kong wins overall.
