Workforce and So You Think to Clash in Coral Eclipse

The Group 1 action is coming on a weekly basis these days as the summer flat season is in full effect. After a thrilling two days at the Curragh for the Irish Derby Weekend, the attention now turns to Sandown for the upcoming Coral-Eclipse on Saturday. A star-studded group looks set to contest this one with several of the world's top contender ready to go head to head.

At the time of this writing, the field has been shortened to a mere eight runners but the amount of talent on display looks likely to offset the lack of a large field. Whoever takes the victory here will notch their name onto a legendary list that goes all the way back to 1886.

Sea the Stars (Cape Cross) added the race to his impressive classics tally in 2009 while Juddmonte's Twice Over (Observatory) notched his first Eclipse victory in 2010.

This year, Workforce (King's Best) will be coming in with plenty of momentum and he knows a thing or two about winning at Sandown, having opened his account for the year in a Group 3 contest there back in late May. Aiden O'Brien saddles Aussie import So You Think (High Chaparral) and he was just mugged on the line by Frankie Dettori and Rewilding (Tiger Hill) at Ascot in the Prince of Wales – a tough break for the 4/11 post-time favourite.

O'Brien looks set to send out several of So You Think's new stablemates with Jan Vermeer (Montjeu) and Cape Blanco (Galileo) both carrying entries for this contest. Cape Blanco in particular has gone off the boil since being routed by Workforce in last year's Arc De Triomphe.

The really interesting variable heading into the Eclipse is the presence of Snow Fairy (Intikhab) who was withdrawn late from the Pretty Polly stakes on Saturday and she remains in the mix for this one. The globetrotting bargain filly is already a multimillionaire and connections have been anxiously awaiting her seasonal debut.