The 4,000 spectators at Sandown Park weren’t short-changed

When only four horses were declared to contest this year’s Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park, there were the usual mutters. Since owners and trainers are always complaining (with justice) about the low levels of prize money in British racing, why weren’t more of them sending their charges to compete for the £640,000 on offer? Brought up within walking distance of the Esher track (and yes, there were occasions when, having blown my stake money and then some, I did have to walk home), I have always been fascinated by the Eclipse, the year’s first contest between the three-year-olds and their elders.

I will never forget Triple Crown winner Nashwan’s electrifying burst which put him five lengths clear of the field in 1989, the furious ding-dong battle between the iron horse Giant’s Causeway (George Duffield) and Kalanisi (Pat Eddery) in 2000 or the manoeuvre by a young Ryan Moore in 2007 when he left the field to come over alone to the standside rails and win on Notnowcato. So why didn’t we see more participants seeking to add their names to that illustrious list last Saturday?

The answer is, I am afraid, a humdrum one. Paying up at the various Eclipse entry stages to have the chance of running on the day would cost connections £7,000. If you wanted to supplement a late developer having missed those stages, it would cost you a cool £37,000 to run. When they looked at the sheer class of the top three entrants, owners and trainers could be forgiven for finding other uses for their money. Four-year-old Mishriff, trained by John and Thady Gosden, won last year’s Prix du Jockey Club (the French Derby) and had picked up £9.5