Coral-Eclipse News: Stone Age and Real World out of Sandown showpiece
- Tom Reed
- 29 June 2022
The 2022 Coral-Eclipse looks a thrilling renewal at Sandown on Saturday, July 2. Aidan O'Brien's Stone Age and Saeed Bin Suroor's Real World will not run however.
The Coral-Eclipse Stakes on Saturday, July 2 lost a tiny bit of quality as Aidan O'Brien's Stone Age and Saeed Bin Suroor's Real World were removed from the Group 1 test.
O'Brien's Epsom Derby contestant Stone Age had been available at 16/1 for the Eclipse while Godolphin's Real World was trading at 7/1 before the announcements.
Stone Age, who disappointed in the Derby will head for a different Derby altogether in the Belmont Derby for O'Brien who won the race in New York last year.
O'Brien said: "Stone Age will go to Belmont the following weekend instead.
"It will give him another week and obviously it's against three-year-olds only. We can step up again after that, depending on how that goes."
O'Brien, is also swerving another pair of runners from the Eclipse in High Defition and Aikhal:"High Definition is going to go to the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud the following day and Aikhal is going to go to the Grand Prix de Paris the following week (July 14)," the trainer added.
Meanwhile, Godolphin handler Bin Suroor was left feeling blue as he was forced to take out Real World, due to be ridden by Frankie Dettori at Sandown.
"Frankie is our man, but unfortunately the horse is not going to run," Bin Suroor told the PA news agency.
"Frankie has been my friend for the last 30 years - we have travelled all over the world together and we wanted to use him, but unfortunately the horse coughed and scoped badly, so we decided not to run. It is disappointing, but you don't run when they are not well.
"We will see how he is, but we will hope to use Frankie when there is something for him."
