Aidan O’Brien has confirmed Constitution River and Hawk Mountain are both set to run in Saturday’s £1million Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
The Ballydoyle pair had appeared to be on diverging paths after Hawk Mountain was handed a free supplementary entry for Sunday’s German Derby, but that option has now been shelved and O’Brien is preparing to let the three-year-old colts meet again in Esher on July 4.
Constitution River arrives as the French Derby winner, having beaten Hawk Mountain by three-quarters of a length at Chantilly last month. O’Brien said both horses had pleased him since that race, with The Irish Sun reporting his latest Coral-Eclipse update on Wednesday.
Sandown Clash Sharpens Ballydoyle Hand
The decision gives O’Brien a powerful hand in one of the summer’s defining Flat races, with Constitution River already prominent at the head of the market and Hawk Mountain adding a second Classic-form line to the Ballydoyle challenge.
Racing Post’s racecard lists nine runners for the 1m2f Group 1, including Roger Varian’s Saddadd, Owen Burrows’ Gethin and Donnacha O’Brien’s A Boy Named Susie. But the focus now falls squarely on whether Constitution River can confirm Chantilly superiority, or whether Hawk Mountain’s Sandown test offers the rematch he needs.
For O’Brien, who has dominated recent renewals, the late confirmation turns the Coral-Eclipse from a single-star raid into a deeper Ballydoyle statement.
Aidan O’Brien has won the last three runnings of the Coral-Eclipse – including last year with Delacroix.
