Personal best puts improver up with leading three-year-olds

William Buick celebrates after landing the Coral-Eclipse with HawkbillCredit: Alan Crowhurst

HAWKBILL maintained his unbeaten record this year to land a rather unsatisfactory soft-ground Coral-Eclipse yesterday, taking his form to a new level with a Racing Post Rating of 123 for a game success over The Gurkha.

Still unbeaten over ten furlongs, Hawkbill is now up there with this year’s leading three-year-olds after this defeat of the possibly unlucky St James’s Palace Stakes runner-up, with just Galileo Gold (124) and Harzand (124) rated above him at this stage of the season.

For a race with two pacemakers the Eclipse surprisingly lacked zip. Whether the form proves reliable remains to be seen with the proximity of the front-running fourth Countermeasure casting some doubt over the race.

Read the full story

Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.

Subscribe to unlock

Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data

Already a subscriber?Log in

Paul CurtisSenior handicapper

Published on 2 July 2016inBritain

Last updated 18:48, 2 July 2016

Copy