Eclipse Stakes

The Eclipse Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 1 mile, 2 furlongs and 7 yards (2,018 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in early July.

History

The event is named after Eclipse, a celebrated 18th-century racehorse. It was established in 1886, and the inaugural running was won by Bendigo. At that time, it was Britain's richest ever race. The prize fund of £10,000 was donated by Leopold de Rothschild at the request of General Owen Williams, a co-founder of Sandown Park.

The Eclipse Stakes was contested by high-quality fields from its inception. It was won by Ayrshire, the previous year's Derby winner, in 1889. The first three finishers in 1903 — Ard Patrick, Sceptre and Rock Sand — had won seven Classics between them.

The race has been sponsored by Coral since 1976, and it is now familiarly known as the "Coral-Eclipse". The most recent Classic winner to achieve victory was Golden Horn in 2015.

Eclipse Stakes (MRC)

The Eclipse Stakes is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race held under quality handicap conditions, for horses aged three years old and upwards, over a distance of 1800 metres, run at Sandown Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in mid November. Total prize money is A$150,000.

Race History

The race was not held for 2 years during World War II. The Melbourne Racing Club moved the race predominantly to Sandown in 1994. However at times the race has been rescheduled and held at Caulfield as was the case in 2013 when Sandown Racecourse was under construction. When held at Sandown Racecourse, the race has been scheduled on the inner Lakeside racecourse at times.

Race grade

Race venue

Race distance

The winners

See also

References

Eclipse Stakes (Canada)

The Eclipse Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held during the second half of May, the Grade II race is open to horses, four-years of age and older. It is contested over a distance of 1 ¹⁄₁₆ miles (8.5 furlongs) on Polytrack synthetic dirt and currently offers a purse of $160,760.

Inaugurated as the Eclipse Handicap at Toronto's Greenwood Raceway in 1956, it was moved to Woodbine Racetrack in 1967. Since inception, it has been contested at various distances:

Records

Speed record: (Through 1998, times were recorded in fifths of a second. Since 1999 they are in hundredths of a second)

Most wins: