Gosden delighted in defeat with Eclipse second Mishriff

Simon Milham
July 2, 2022 4:19 pm

Trainer ‘thrilled’ after disappointing effort last time.

John Gosden was “over the moon” with Mishriff’s close-up second in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Having his first outing since disappointing in defence of his Saudi Cup crown, the five-year-old finished with a rare rattle to get within a neck of the French Derby winner Vadeni.

Short of room with a furlong to run, David Egan shifted Mishriff to the outside and narrowly failed to reel in the three-year-old, who was in receipt of 10lb. Native Trail, the Irish 2,000 Guineas winner, was a further head back in third.

“Great run, delighted with him. Just missed the break. We had wanted to follow Bay Bridge, but we just missed it so we wound up down on the rail, but he has run a fabulous race,” said Gosden, who trains in partnership with his son Thady.

Mishriff only just failed to reel in Vadeni (Nigel French/PA)

“I am thrilled with the way he finished. David did everything right, just having missed the break and it was a super run. You have three-year-olds getting a lot of weight – never forget the weight they get – it is very handy when you have a three-year-old. And he has split the two three-year-olds, so I am absolutely over the moon with him.

“I think he is fit enough. He is not blowing much, but he has run a superb race against two star three-year-olds.

“Saudi did not go well. He got a whole load of sand down his throat.”

Stablemate Lord North also returned to form, beaten just a length in fourth.

He added: “I thought Lord North, squeezed on the inside, ran a blinder of a race.”

Native Trail was on the other side of Vadeni and his trainer Charlie Appleby offered up no excuses in defeat.

He said: “We have got no excuses. They have gone steady and not gone a mad gallop. William said he felt he was in the right position and said the horse was comfortable in the race and comfortable over the trip – he saw it out.

“But take nothing away from the winner or the eventual second. It was that strong an event that it was always going to be a tight finish. I don’t think we were ever going to see a horse win by a couple of lengths.

“I posed the question of whether he should come back to a mile. Will said he was comfortable at that and there is no reason why we wouldn’t stay at a mile and quarter. It might just give him a few more options, anyway.

“He saw it out well and is a very straightforward ride in a race. We will consider the Juddmonte International (at York). Maybe a flatter, slicker track might suit him more, but I’m not making any excuses. He ran a solid race and more importantly, he has opened up options.

“Hopefully it makes life a little bit simpler with (stablemate) Coroebus. We can keep him at a mile.”