Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in pedigree and overseas international racing. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Horse Racing – Results’, ‘Simulcast Preview'’ and Simulcast oversea races.

Sandown Racecourse – Track Analysis (Eclipse Stakes Day):

Located on the southwest part of London, the venerated Sandown Racecourse is an oval-shaped, right-handed and turf-only circuit, and also features a 1010m chute that streaks right through the midfield to cater for sprint contests. In general, it is a much tighter course in terms of track width – particularly when compared with Ascot.

For the featured Eclipse Stakes, the 3yo+ 81-100 Handicap and the 3yo 61-80 Handicap, all over 1990m, fields will travel an extended yet levelled 1000m backstretch before hitting a tight turn, where those attempting a wide move would concede quite a good deal of ground. Moreover, upon turning for home, a gruelling approximately 800m stretch run will promptly present itself, and with the first 600m of it going slightly uphill, a protracted drive all the way from that final turn to the finish is simply no easy task. Instead, riders would often save enough horse underneath, then push the button with about 300m to go, in order to sustain a strong momentum under the wire.

In last year’s Eclipse Stakes, when the turf was listed as good to firm, GHAIYYATH, Godolphin’s Coronation Cup winner, was gunned to the lead and kept on strongly deep in the stretch, up the hill, and blitzed the field home, whereas champion mare ENABLE, though stalking midfield early on the two path, then catapulting past JAPAN, who hounded GHAIYYATH the entire trip for the Coolmore outfit, could not even reach the winner’s late speed at close range, only settling back for second.

To the rest of the day’s undercard, the 3yo+ 76-95 Handicap and the Sprint Stakes, both at 1009m, will see the fields charging full-throttle towards the knoll, across the midfield, on a slight incline; while track bias is generally negligible, front-runners will again find it almost impossible to sustain an incandescent pace all the way home. Then, in the 1400m 3yo 71-90 Handicap, runners will travel roughly 600m of the backside before hitting the final turn; likewise, the 3yo+ Handicap and the Distaff Stakes, both at 1600m, are straightforward affairs further, where runners have a more manageable 800m of the backstretch to work with.

With rain continuously teasing the London area as of late, just like Royal Ascot about a fortnight ago, and then into Saturday, the turf for this year’s race meeting could be tricky; as such, forwardly-placed runners would find it challenging to hold their fort up front.

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