Delacroix nabs Ombudsman to win the Coral-Eclipse

Coral-Eclipse reaction: Delacroix within 3lb of Field Of Gold on Timeform ratings

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Tue July 08, 2025 · 5M ago

Delacroix has earned a Timeform rating of 129+ (from 116p) following his dramatic victory in the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday and is now rated only 3lb behind leading three-year-old Field of Gold (132p) who is also the highest-rated horse in Europe.

Beaten Derby favourite Delacroix was the only runner in Saturday's six-strong field who hadn't won at the highest level, but he showed much-improved form to collar Ombudsman (remains 130), Timeform's highest-rated four-year-old in Europe.

Ombudsman wasn't quite at his best only 17 days after such an impressive performance in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, but Delacroix still deserves plenty of credit for making up so much ground inside the final furlong, and his new rating has been upgraded to take into account his troubled passage and his fast closing sectional.

He is now comfortably Timeform's highest-rated middle-distance three-year-old this season. Indeed, he is rated half a stone superior to Derby and Irish Derby winner Lambourn, the horse he beat emphatically in the Ballysax Stakes in March.

Field of Gold has achieved a slightly higher level of form than Delacroix as things stand, but both colts could still have more to offer so a clash between the pair in the Juddmonte International Stakes could define the division.

Last year's Juddmonte was won by City of Troy who produced a career-best performance to beat Calandagan and earn a Timeform rating of 130p. Delacroix has already achieved a similar level as his much-vaunted former stablemate.

Timeform's highest-rated three-year-olds:

132p Field of Gold
129+ Delacroix
123 Henri Matisse
123 Ruling Court
122 Lambourn

Coral-Eclipse reaction: Delacroix within 3lb of Field Of Gold on Timeform ratings

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