Eclipse Prize-Money Boosted to £1m

[Wandering Eyes]

The Coral-Eclipse Stakes, the highlight of Sandown's Flat season, will this year be run for a total prize fund of £1 million, making it the eighth race in Britain to offer prize-money into seven figures and the most valuable ever staged at the Surrey track. Last year's race carried prize-money of £750,000.

Sandown Park, part of the Jockey Club's portfolio of racecourses, celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, a year which also sees Coral mark 50 years of sponsorship the Group 1 feature, making it the longest-running Group race sponsorship in the world.

As part of the increased investment, and in a bid to increase international participation, the 2025 Coral-Eclipse will also include two wildcard entries for the winners of the Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de Diane, both run at Chantilly in June.

“The Coral-Eclipse is one of the most prestigious Flat races in the world and we are incredibly proud of our long-standing association with the race,” said Coral PR director Simon Clare. “The prize-money increase to £1 million is another landmark moment for the race, a race which remains firmly at the forefront of the minds of leading trainers, owners and breeders, and which continues to stand the test of time.”

First run in 1886, the 10f Coral-Eclipse Stakes is Britain's first major all-aged Group 1 of the season and has a roll of honour stretching back to Isinglass (GB), Mill Reef, Sadler's Wells and Dancing Brave, and which includes more recently Sea The Stars (Ire), Golden Horn (GB) and Enable (GB). Last year's winner City Of Troy shared the top spot in the 2024 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings.

His trainer Aidan O'Brien, who has won the race a record eight times, said, “The Coral-Eclipse is the first time in the season when three-year-olds meet older horses over a mile and a quarter, it's a very informative race for the rest of the season going forward. It's always a very hard race to win, it's very important to any horse that wins it – either a colt or a filly.”

The late Aga Khan IV was the owner-breeder of the most recent French-trained winner of the race in Vadeni (Fr).

Nemone Routh, director and French racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs, said, “After Vadeni's easy five-length win in the Prix du Jockey Club, the Coral-Eclipse felt like a natural next step. 

“The prize-money is certainly attractive, the timing and distance are ideal, and the race offers to a top French three-year-old, or older horse, the chance to prove their potential on an international stage against elite horses. 

“We had a great experience [in 2022], which was enhanced by Vadeni's brilliant performance against a field comprising of only Group 1 winners. It allowed his talent to be shown to a wider, international audience which helped his stallion career once he was retired to stud. 

“The availability of a wild-card entry would certainly make the process easier and encourage connections of French trained runners to consider this prestigious race.”

The Eclipse joins the Derby (£1.5m), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (£1.5m), Qipco Champion Stakes (£1.3m), Juddmonte International Stakes (£1.25m), Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (£1.1m), Prince of Wales's Stakes (£1m) and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (£1m) on the list of British Group 1 races to be run for seven figures in 2025. 

France's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe remains Europe's most valuable race with total prize-money of €5 million, while in Ireland, the Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes each have a purse of €1.25 million.

This year's Coral-Eclipse Stakes takes place on Saturday, July 5. Entries close on May 6, with a supplementary entry stage on June 30.

 

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