Eclipse favourite Paddington set to lead Ballydoyle assault on busy Group One weekend

Paddington is all the betting rage to secure Aidan O’Brien a record-breaking victory in Saturday’s Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.

O’Brien’s recent run of landmark successes include notching 100 European Classic wins in Sunday’s Irish Derby and becoming Royal Ascot’s most successful ever trainer last month.

Now he is set to try and land a seventh Eclipse and pass out the hauls secured by both Michael Stoute and Alec Taylor, who currently share the wins record with the Irishman on six.

Paddington was backed into 11-8 favourite with the sponsor on Tuesday and O’Brien described his Irish Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner as a “probable” for Saturday’s highlight.

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It will be a first time beyond a mile for Paddington, who will also take on older horses for the first time. They include the top older mare Emily Upjohn and the Prix D’Ispahan winner Anmaat.

It is shaping into a busy Group One weekend generally for Ireland’s champion trainer, who is also considering a tilt at Saturday’s Grand Prix De Saint-Cloud with Bolshoi Ballet.

The son of Galileo is one of just seven entries currently left in the mile and a half contest O’Brien won in 2021 with Broome.

The race is a target for last year’s Irish Derby winner Westover, while the top German horse Tunnes is also a likely starter.

Bolshoi Ballet hasn’t won since scoring in the Grade One Belmont Derby two years ago but ran a good race when runner-up to Royal Champion on his last start in Royal Ascot’s Wolferton.

“He could run but it’s not definite. We are going to see what the ground is going to be like,” O’Brien said on Tuesday.

The top local rider, Ioritz Mendizabal, who rode a trio of French Classic winners for O’Brien in 2021, could be in line to ride Bolshoi Ballet if he lines up in the €400,000 contest.

The Irishman also nominated Meditate as a potential starter in Sunday’s €400,000 Haras D’Etreham Prix Jean Prat at Deauville.

Last season O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore scooped the seven-furlong contest for three-year-olds with another filly in Tenebrism.

Meditate was fourth to Tahiyra in Ascot’s Coronation Stakes last month and prior to that was runner-up to the same filly in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

The likely Jean Prat favourite is the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas hero Chaldean, who will be ridden for the first time by Oisin Murphy. He will replace the suspended Frankie Dettori.

Chaldean proved no match for Paddington in a clash of the Guineas winners in the St James’s Palace and connections are keen to drop him in trip.

“He came out of Ascot in good form, he’s only had two runs this year so is relatively fresh, in good shape and if he works okay on Wednesday morning we’ll be on target for Sunday,” reported the Juddmonte spokesman, Barry Mahon.

“Frankie’s first words when he got off at Ascot were ‘by God this guy’s got lots of speed’ so I think we’re happy enough that seven should be fine.

“I think he showed it as Ascot. He jumped from the gate and was quickly into his stride and they went a pretty hard pace the whole way. I don’t think we’re too worried about dropping back to seven.

“There were some conversations about coming back to the July Cup but this is a happy medium, it’s a nice race and fits nicely into our programme,” Mahon added.

Irish-trained horses have dominated the Jean Prat in the last two years with Ken Condon’s Laws Of Indices emerging on top in 2021.

Separately, Dermot Weld has kept open a French option for his recent impressive Gowran maiden winner Knight To King.

The once-raced son of Classic winners Kingman and Nightime is one of half-a-dozen entries left in Saturday’s Group Two Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud. Ballydoyle’s Londoner is also among them.

Wednesday’s Tipperary action will see Moore in action on a couple of O’Brien runners.

The once highly touted Alabama will try to break his maiden at the fourth attempt. He lines up in the Listed Tipperary Stakes and again dons the blinkers he wore for the first time at Royal Ascot when fifth in the Windsor Castle where he looked to have raced on the ‘wrong’ side of the track.

More of an issue this time may be Gunzburg who chased home Alabama’s stable companion Matrika at the Curragh on Saturday. She should relish this quick five furlongs.

So should Lady Tilbury who also makes a quick return to action having finished fifth to Commanche Falls on Sunday.

An intriguing juvenile conditions event sees Spanish Flame conceding a couple of pounds for his impressive Roscommon maiden success last month.

That might come to bear against the Ballydoyle hope Portland.