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Sport

Oxx's star has Eclipse rivals running scared

Simon Milham
8 Jun 2009


Sandown officials are worried that Derby hero Sea The Stars will scare off most of the opposition should he take on his elders for the first time in the Coral-Eclipse.

Trainer John Oxx will leave it late before deciding whether the Epsom winner will bid for another Classic in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on 28 June or go to Sandown for the Group 1 contest a week later.

Oxx said: "The Irish Derby is the obvious next race for him but he's dependant on goodish ground. If he didn't run there because of the going he'd probably run in the Eclipse."

However, if the three-year-old does head to Sandown, the worry is that rivals will be thin on the ground.

Ralph Beckett is none too keen to allow stable star Look Here to lock horns with Sea The Stars.

Last year's Oaks heroine made a fine seasonal reappearance in Friday's Coronation Cup, finishing with a late rattle to go down by two noses to Ask and Youmzain.

But Beckett said: "We'll be going wherever Sea The Stars isn't! I'm quite happy to take on anything else, but I'm not sure I want to take on him at all. The Eclipse would be a possible but we may wait for the King George at Ascot next month."

Sea The Stars is favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, but Oxx may instead head to the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

He added: "The Breeders' Cup this year and last year is slightly different to previous years because it is run on a Polytrack-type surface. I would never ask a three-year-old to run on American dirt but obviously the new surface is a bit more tempting."

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