Roaring Lion wins Gr. 1 Coral-Eclipse
Qatar Racing's star three-year-old Roaring Lion won the all-aged Gr. 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday after a thrilling battle.
Roaring Lion, the runaway Dante winner and Derby third, got back to winning ways returned to a mile and a quarter in a memorable Eclipse, getting the better of a titanic battle with his old rival, 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior. Roaring Lion started favourite and didn't let his supporters down.
The win was a first Gr. 1 winner in Britain for 22-year-old Oisin Murphy - and a fourth Gr. 1 win overall. It was also Murphy's first for Qatar Racing, and Qatar Racing's first Gr. 1 winner since Simple Verse won the QIPCO Champion Fillies' and Mares' Stakes in 2015.
Roaring Lion's success gave John Gosden his third in the Eclipse, the colt putting himself alongside Nathaniel and Golden Horn.
It wasn't all plain sailing as Roaring Lion was kept wide in rear by Ballydoyle's Happily, herself tracking Saxon Warrior, and then after Roaring Lion had laid everything on the line to get up by a neck, a Stewards' Enquiry was called after connections of the runner-up objected on interference grounds. Roaring Lion had tanked through the race and showed a truly fantastic attitude to get up on the line.
After the result was confirmed, 18 minutes after the horses had crossed the line, Murphy said:
"I knew I was on the best horse in the race today, and that's the bottom line, I just had to get it right and not get there too soon. I'm delighted I got the job done for Sheikh Fahad and Qatar Racing, for John Gosden, all the staff, and for my family. This is what I've wanted to be achieving.
"These horses are very hard to find and we've won a Gr. 1 with him now. I've been watching the Eclipse since 2005 I think, when Motivator was beaten by Oratorio, and it's a race I've always wanted to win.
"This is top now in all of my achievements. It's great, but I want to do more. I've wanted to be champion jockey every year and I've been trying this year, but my percentages haven't been good enough, so I'll have to try again next year.
"John [Gosden] always asks me how I'm going to ride him and he was happy with it, so that gave me confidence. They kept me wide, but John said whatever happens don't get sucked in. He doesn't pull, and so he didn't need cover, but it very was good race riding from Wayne [Lordan, on Happily]."
John Gosden praised the ride, saying: "Oisin rode a clever race. We discussed options but you have to leave the jockey with an blank canvas. The smaller the field the trickier it gets, but he wasn't going to get himself in any trouble and I thought he timed his run perfectly."
Roaring Lion is a top-class, very tough and, it would seem, popular colt and we hope he can continue to run well for the rest of the season. His next stop could well be the Gr. 1 Juddmonte International at York on August 22, over the same course and distance as his Dante win. A big thank you to all who have contributed to Roaring Lion's successes this season.