Saddadd has the measure of King Of Cities

Ray Dawson excited about Coral-Eclipse ride on Saddadd.

Horse Racing

Tue June 30, 2026 · 11h ago

Ray Dawson is looking forward to riding Saddadd in Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse.

The four-year-old is unbeaten in two starts at Sandown to date, including this season’s bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes, and he’s having a second successive outing at Group One level.

The first came at the Curragh in May when he finished third behind Almaqam in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

“We didn’t know what to expect from the race that day and we actually learned a lot abut the horse even though we didn’t win,” the jockey told Tuesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast.

“They went very hard and he stayed very well and was probably the best finisher inside the final furlong and I think it was probably his best performance to date even though we were still beat.

“But we learned that he stayed that trip well and we were pleased with the run. The second Bay City Roller came out and won a Group One next time so the form has definitely held up and we were very happy with him.”

Dawson admits it wasn’t the initial plan to be as far back on Saddadd as he was in Ireland.

“The plan at the Curragh was to jump and be handy but the way the race panned out they went so quick I had to just settle where he relaxed. It will be the same again on Saturday. We’ll jump to keep it as simple as possible and if there’s plenty of pace on, we’ll see where we’re comfortable. If there’s not as much pace as there was that day then we’ll probably have him handier but he’s a very straightforward horse, you can ride him from where he’s comfortable.

“He’s half-asleep most of the time and a very easy horse to ride as a jockey. You can put him in a race anywhere, he’s very genuine, he doesn’t pull, you’re never worried about him overdoing it in a race or anything like that. For a top-class horse he’s a pleasure to ride.”

Ray Dawson excited about Coral-Eclipse ride on Saddadd.

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