Paddington 'fresh' for battle in Coral-Eclipse at Sandown

The master of Ballydoyle’s first Eclipse hero was Giant’s Causeway in 2000, a colt who was making his fifth start of a busy 10-race Classic season and later dubbed the ‘Iron Horse’, and O’Brien feels Paddington possesses a similar kind of constitution required to carry his form deep into the campaign.

Paddington is also treading a similar path to the fondly-remembered Giant’s Causeway, having taken part in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (May 27) and the St James’s Palace Stakes (June 20) at Royal Ascot – both races having fallen on the same date as when Giant's Causeway competed.

“Paddington is nice and fresh and well,” O’Brien said on a press zoom call organised by The Jockey Club on Thursday.

“He hasn’t done much (since the Royal meeting) and we wanted to give him as much as time as we could, but we think he’s come out of Ascot very well, that’s the reason we wanted to give him the chance to do it at Sandown. The people who look after him and Seamie (Heffernan) who rides him in his work – everyone is happy with him.

“The plan was always Ascot and then we’d go to Goodwood but he’s come out of it so well – he started doing a few bits of work and got very fresh - that we thought he could take it in on the way. When the lads discussed it with us we said he could take it in given his well-being so here we are.

“Like Giant’s Causeway, he’s a three-year-old and a lot of the races he’s run in, Giant’s Causeway ran in as well, it’s the way it has worked out really. Looking at this horse, he’s probably quicker than the Giant was."

WATCH: Paddington wins St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot

The Sandown feature’s roll of honour also includes the O’Brien-trained Hawk Wing (2002), Oratorio (2005), Mount Nelson (2008), So You Think (2011) and the most recent scorer from the stable – St Mark’s Basilica in 2021.

“We’ve had some great horses win the Eclipse,” said the trainer. “So You Think was an unbelievable horse, Hawk Wing was a big, powerful horse, there’s St Mark and Giant’s Causeway was very important to us at the time, he was our first horse at that level really. I remember George (Duffield) gave him an unbelievable ride. Pat (Eddery) was on Sir Michael’s horse (Kalanisi) who was second and they’re all days you don’t forget. They were very important days for us."

Like Paddington, five-time Group 1 winner St Mark’s Basilica, who stands at Coolmore Australia and whose first crop of juveniles is expected to take to the track in 2025, is a son of Siyouni and O’Brien sees certain similarities in the pair.

"On pedigree you’d think he should get the distance, St Mark’s (Basilica) got it – he was a miler that had plenty of speed as well,” said O’Brien.

"They’re both by Siyouni but Paddington is out of a Montjeu mare, St Mark was out of a Galileo mare. I think they’re the only two Siyounis we’ve had up to this point – we have a number of two-year-olds by him this year, but these are the only ones we’ve had thus far.

“The Coral-Eclipse is a very prestigious race for everyone, it’s the first time the generations meet and you get a feel where you are. And it’s very important race for any horse going to stud, especially."

Not only does O’Brien expect Paddington to handle a step up to a mile and a quarter for the first time, but he isn’t ruling out the horse potentially racing over even further as the year goes on.

With a long-range entry in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, it’s clear all options are open for a horse who continues to go climb the ranks having made his reappearance in a Naas handicap towards the end of March.

“He’s in all the big races because his pedigree says he should stay further than a mile, he’s a big strong horse and he does everything very easily. He’s clearly progressing from race-to-race. It’s possible (the Arc), there’s plenty of stamina on his dam’s side so it’s possible.

“He’s a very straightforward horse, Ryan could go forward on him on Saturday, I don’t think it makes a big difference."

The four-runner Eclipse field is made up by West Wind Blows, Dubai Honour and star mare Emily Upjohn, who is Paddington’s chief market rival as she looks to follow-up her impressive victory in last month’s Coronation Cup at Epsom.

O’Brien is relishing the challenge facing his colt.

“It will be interesting,” he said. “You need to have a good three-year-old to take on the good older horses. A three-year-old is usually not as mature as the older horses, but as the year goes on it all levels up.

"The Eclipse is such a prestigious race for a horse going to stud, it’s a good track which is always well maintained and you get a good picture about where you’re going afterwards.”

One horse not declared for the race on Thursday morning was Paddington’s stablemate Luxembourg, last seen finishing second to Mostadhaf in a strong renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

“He was only going to be a possible for the Eclipse if Paddington didn’t run, he is in the King George and he’ll be trained for that, I think," confirmed O’Brien.

"We’re looking at that for Auguste Rodin as well obviously and I would imagine if Auguste is going there Luxembourg might have to stand back again.

“We’ll wait and see, but at the moment he (Luxembourg) is on the King George programme.”

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