Graham Cunningham on Coral-Eclipse weekend at Sandown plus Commonwealth Cup ruling and Jim Bolger

Jim Bolger is keeping shtum for now after taking legal advice, while the issue over careless riding comes under sharp focus again in light of the Irish Derby won by Hurricane Lane and William Buick.

Catch Cunningham (see below...) on all the big issues in this week's File.

Only four for Sandown showdown

One is a prophet – make that profit – without honour in his own country. And the other might be the least heralded Champion Two-Year-Old and dual Classic winner of all time.

We Brits have a long tradition of not truly recognising excellence until it’s displayed right under our parochial noses but Mishriff and St Mark’s Basilica have the chance to win over a significant new audience when they go head to head in the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday.

But despite the small field, this is a race that should tie up enough global form lines to satisfy the most ardent internationalist.

Mishriff, with world-class form on dirt and turf and a £10m-plus bankroll built up largely in Saudi and Dubai, brings a rare hand of aces to the table.

St Mark’s Basilica emulated Mishriff by winning the Prix du Jockey Club and showed a potent turn of foot (and an interesting flash of the tail) in doing so, while the rugged Addeybb has been beautifully placed by William Haggas to maximise his courage and ability to handle soft ground on both sides of the world.

And, if nothing else, Eclipse week always invites a jog down Memory Lane.

And so, in no particular order and with no apologies for going way back, here are the top five Eclipse winners in my Personal Record Book (you can hear more memories from GC in this week's Podcast).

Brave among the very best

1986: Dancing Brave was fresh from a controversial Derby defeat but made no mistake under the late Greville Starkey, powering clear of high-class older horses Triptych and Teleprompter. Two days later I was standing nervously with Simon Rowlands in reception at Timeform House as we started our first jobs in racing. I don’t think he mentioned the Brave’s super sectionals – but it was a long time ago.

1987 and 1988: A few weeks before Dancing Brave stole the show at Sandown a huge helicopter delivered assorted members of the Maktoum family to a routine Friday night Haydock meeting. Mtoto rewarded their trip by winning the superbly titled Chipmobile Maiden Stakes and went from strength under the care of Alec Stewart, winning the Eclipse in 1987 and 1988 and also adding a King George and two Prince of Wales’s Stakes to his exceptional record.

2000: Come for the whip cracking finish, stay for the way the form worked out. Giant’s Causeway refused to be denied under a relentless Eclipse drive from 53-year-old George Duffield, getting the better of an epic scrap with Pat Eddery and Kalanisi. The Iron Horse rattled off three more G1 wins before being beaten a neck by Tiznow in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, while Kalanisi, Sakhee and Fantastic Light franked the form with major successes all over the world. What a race.

2009: The Guineas and Derby were in the bag when Sea The Stars was sent to Sandown, though it’s easy to forget that he only came into Eclipse reckoning once the ground turned soft for the Irish Derby a week earlier. Old rival Rip Van Winkle and BC Turf winner Conduit came to challenge but Michael Kinane simply allowed John Oxx’s colt to use his elegant stride to turn them away. G1 wins at York, Leopardstown and Longchamp completed his flawless season and, for those under 40, STS remains the benchmark by which most Eclipse winners are measured.

1984: What we do in life echoes in eternity. And races like the Eclipse resonate for decades if the winner goes on to excel as a stallion. Sadler’s Wells wasn’t the greatest Eclipse winner. He wasn’t even the best three-year-old at Vincent O’Brien’s Ballydoyle base in a year when El Gran Senor was on the prowl, but he proved too strong for star older mare Time Charter at Sandown and has shaped the sport immensely since thanks to offspring like Galileo, Montjeu, Yeats, Salsabil and mighty hurdler Istabraq.

Ascot appeal a vital test case

By the time you read this, the appeal against Dragon Symbol’s demotion in the Commonwealth Cup will be getting under way or over.

It’s a vital case on various levels – not least prize money and stud value – but those considerations pale compared to what the verdict will say about how British racing treats unlucky losers who suffer interference.

The G1 juice is clearly worth the squeeze for Archie Watson and Dragon Symbol’s Japanese owners and the fact that the winning distance over American raider Campanelle was a head rather than a nose or a short head gives them some hope.

Appeal hearing veterans tell of replays being pored over in minute detail with lawyers striving to convince an independent panel. But even without being in the room where it happens, it shouldn’t be hard to anticipate the key points.

Data could prove a key component

Campanelle’s team will lean hard on the fact that Wes Ward’s filly was bumped twice then carried off a true line persistently in the final furlong, while Team Watson will counter that Dragon Symbol asserted close home and seemed to be holding his rival at the post.

Time will tell whether Longines sectional timing and total distance travelled data will be cited as key evidence but it certainly helps bring the Royal Ascot duel into sharp focus.

That data shows Campanelle’s official finish time was just 0.02s slower than Dragon Symbol even though she received two hefty bumps either side of the furlong pole and was forced to deviate from a straight racing line for a sustained period thereafter.

For the record, it’s worth noting that a blink of an eye takes at least a tenth of a second, while the fact that Campanelle was carried seven or eight horse widths right is reflected by the fact that she was forced to cover 2.5m more than any other Commonwealth Cup runner and more than 4m farther than those who charted the straightest course.

Three strikes the key

Bookies declined to bet on the appeal outcome and, after Ascot officials apparently forgot to activate microphones to bring audio of the original hearing to the masses, we will have to rely on old school print media to relay the drama of today’s events.

The last two paragraphs of this piece will haunt me if the appeal panel decides that Dragon Symbol was the winner on merit and should be restored to first place.

But no sensible analysis of the Commonwealth Cup should result in a verdict that Campanelle lost less ground than she was beaten by in the fateful final fifteen seconds.

One bump might be forgiven; two, well, not so much; but two hefty bumps followed by a damaging drift? If three such strikes don’t add up to “you’re out” then the scales of British racing justice need urgent recalibration.

READ: Dragon Symbol connections lose Ascot appeal

Rule 4 applies as Jim ducks doping discussion

News that Jim Bolger has declined an invitation to share his thoughts on alleged doping in Irish racing with the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee next week due to legal advice is newsworthy on several levels.

The notion that Ireland’s most fiercely independent handler takes advice from anyone below Pontiff level is surprising enough, but Bolger’s absence means his assertion that a Lance Armstrong is hiding in plain sight may never be held up to official public scrutiny.

Would Jim have gone for the Dom Cummings option, relishing the spotlight and the chance to dish dirt on colleagues and officialdom alike?

Would he have fallen victim to that timeless scene in Godfather Part II in which ageing family boss Frank Pentangeli is poised to give damning evidence against the Corleone family only to turn turtle once he sees Don Michael glaring menacingly from the public gallery?

Or would Jim have gone full Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in A Few Good Men, bellowing at the Committee that “you can’t handle the truth” and that damn right he ordered the Code Red.

Perhaps it’s juvenile to trivialise such a significant subject but the Irish government will bankroll racing to the tune of around £70m in taxpayer funds this year and Bolger’s late scratching leaves a void that is already being filled with further gossip.

One report hints that a leading player called Jim out in a TV interview that was aired with some colourful comments edited out last weekend, while another has Bolger’s head lad being sent back to Coolcullen with a salty “put up or shut up” message ringing in his ears.

Whether the Committee can take the subject forward without their star witness remains to be seen but, for the moment, J Bolger (IRE) is a NR because of the going. And the Committee room going is neither too firm nor too soft – but perhaps just a little too tough.

Culture change needed as Careless whispers grow louder

Another big race, another winning rider charging up the outside then shutting the door hard to kybosh rivals on his inner.

First there was Mohaafeth hanging all over Roman Empire in the Hampton Court at Ascot. Surefire and Dragon Symbol showed similar right leaning tendencies in the King George V Handicap and Commonwealth Cup, while Hurricane Lane sparked a domino effect with jarring consequences for Wordsworth and Mojo Star in Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

Only three of the four rides resulted in careless riding bans – Hector Crouch escaped censure on Surefire – but the issue here is that suspensions simply don’t seem to have a deterrent effect.

So what’s the answer to a problem that makes some British and Irish races look embarrassingly ragged compared to those in other major racing jurisdictions and leaves nagging doubts as to the integrity of big race results?

Fran Berry sustained a ban when Kinema hung right on his way to victory at the royal meeting in 2016 but summed up the situation neatly in this week’s SportingLife Podcast.

“The bigger the stakes the rougher the riding,” he said. “Thankfully it hasn’t happened yet but there will come a day when a rider goes down and a horse goes down.

"I’ve been there and ridden to the limit – and as a rider you have to adapt to your surroundings – but I do think the culture has to change. There has to be a better, stronger, more consistent stewarding route on interference. That would change the culture and in the longer term that would work better for riders, too."

Berry’s comments came on the same day the BHA announced that their latest whip review – powered by an online survey, focus groups and a 15-member steering group – is likely to deliver change by the spring of 2022.

It shouldn’t have to take a horse and rider getting badly hurt to tackle the issue of careless (and borderline reckless) riding in big races. But it’s increasingly clear the problem needs attention.

Genesis could be an Arc revelation

Yes, Japan has yet to crack the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

And better horses than Chrono Genesis – namely the brilliant Deep Impact and the bonkers Orfevre – have come up short at Longchamp. But Chrono Genesis is at the peak of her powers aged five after her latest G1 success in the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin last weekend. A daughter of Arc hero Bago and much the same horse as Mishriff on Sheema Classic form, she has Paris firmly on her agenda with a 125 Timeform rating and Christophe Lemaire likely to be in the plate.

Does that sound like a 20/1 chance to you? No, it doesn’t to me, either.

Double trouble

My name is Cunningham. My son’s name is Gabriel. A horse called Catch Cunningham (9/1) won at Newcastle last Saturday, swiftly followed by Gabrial The Devil (7/2) saluting at Chester. A measly £10 double would have netted £450. And, no, of course I didn’t.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing columnists
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.