Steve Cauthen Backs Ombudsman For Eclipse Glory 40 Years On From Pebbles

[Wandering Eyes]

It is 40 years since Steve Cauthen guided the brilliant Pebbles to a memorable victory in the Eclipse Stakes and the legendary jockey revealed that, if given the opportunity to ride any horse at Sandown on Saturday, he would not look beyond the race favourite Ombudsman. 

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Ombudsman took his form to a new level when running out an impressive winner of the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. That came on just the sixth start of the four-year-old's career and Cauthen said Ombudsman shaped like a colt that has the scope for further progression and is his main pick for the showpiece event. 

He said, “I watched Ombudsman winning at Royal Ascot and I was very impressed. He is an unexposed type that has raced just six times so he could be hard to beat. He's the one I'd go for.”

When you think of the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, great horses like Pebbles are spoken about in the same breath of Sea The Stars, Nashwan, Giant's Causeway and more as the most memorable winners. Of course, Cauthen broke new ground aboard Clive Britain's outstanding racemare, given she became the first of her sex to win the 10f contest. 

Cauthen remembered, “I had gone to Henry's [Cecil] and had obviously ridden a lot for Sheikh Mohammed, including the [fillies'] Triple Crown aboard Oh So Sharp. So I ended up getting on Pebbles for the Eclipse and I can remember she was working really well in the build-up to the race. She was a super filly. It wasn't a big field but it was a quality race and she beat Rainbow Quest quite easily. Over 10f, I felt we had more speed than he did, and it worked out that way. We made the running and, entering the final two furlongs, I asked her to pick up and she picked up good to win comfortably in the end. It was a brilliant performance.”

Cauthen added, “I was always happy to make the running, especially if you were on the best horse and in small fields like that. Unfortunately I lost the ride aboard Pebbles in the Champion Stakes because I had to ride Slip Anchor. Pat [Eddery] got on her that day and he ended up beating me in the Breeders' Cup Turf as well! But those were great times and I was very fortunate to ride some great horses – particularly fillies.

“I rode Pebbles, Oh So Sharp, In The Groove, Triptych, Cormorant Wood , Time Charter – just some fantastic fillies and Pebbles ranked right up there. I always say that Oh So Sharp was the best I rode. What she did in the Oaks, beating a filly like Triptych [by] six lengths in a canter, was a damn good performance. But I rated Pebbles right up there with all the other good fillies that I rode.”

Cauthen won just about everything there is to win in Europe throughout his glittering career in the saddle and explained how the Eclipse at Sandown was always a race that excited him greatly. 

He concluded, “I think the Eclipse is a great race because you tend to get good horses who have run in the Derby coming back in trip. If they can do that, it tends to heighten their stud value and therefore it's usually a very well-supported race by all of the top outfits and this year's edition looks a very good one.”

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