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.
All Delacroix’s best work had come racing on or just off the pace, and that might have been the general plan Saturday. In fact, jockey Ryan Moore described the trip he got as something like Plan Z, the alternative to the alternative to the alternative, and so forth.
:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports
A close third in the early stages, snugged just behind pacesetters Hotazhell and Sosie while racing near the inside rail, Moore took Delacroix off the fence after a furlong, a rank Ruling Court rushing up to occupy the spot Moore had held. Several strides thereafter, odds-on favorite Ombudsman moved forward on the outside, coming alongside, then past Delacroix. Moore said he considered using his mount to keep Ombudsman and William Buick hung wide with no cover but decided not to send his 3-year-old into an early battle with an older, stronger 4-year-old.
Going into the final bend, Moore patiently glided back down to the rail, the six Eclipse runners racing in pairs, Moore in the trailing one inside Delacroix’s Aidan O’Brien-trained stablemate Camille Pissarro. And so, the colt who looked like he could lead or press turned into the homestretch in last.
Moore began probing for a gap but could find none, finally abandoning that project with a quarter mile remaining and steering left, outside of the five in front of him. Delacroix lost a touch of momentum crossing over heels and when finally clear with 300 yards remaining still faced something like a five-length deficit, Ombudsman having surged to the lead. Delacroix hit peak stride a furlong out, rushed past Camille Pissarro, bore down on Ombudsman and nailed him at the line to win by a neck. O’Brien in the immediate aftermath hailed the ride as one of Moore’s best – and that’s saying something. Moore, for his part, lauded his mount’s incredible turn of foot.
The 10-pound weight-for-age break Delacroix got from Ombudsman surely helped, but that’s how European racing begins mixing 3-year-olds and older horses this early in the summer. Ombudsman, too, ran back less than three weeks after a strong win in the Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot and to some extent was compromised Saturday by ground loss.
Camille Pissarro ran out of gas with a half-furlong remaining as Ruling Court, another 3-year-old, stayed on for third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Ombudsman. Delacroix was timed in 2:05.92 over good-to-firm going, the relatively slow Eclipse clocking considering course conditions resulting from a muddling pace. Delacroix paid $9.10 to win in North America.
Delacroix, by Dubawi out of the late Tepin, by Bernstein, had shown Group 1 level form since his 2-year-old season but won for the first time at the top level. He could show up next in the International Stakes at York, another major 1 1/4-mile contest, and both trainer and jockey hinted Delacroix would better suit a step down in trip to one mile than stretching back out to the Derby’s 1 1/2 miles.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.