Four things we learned from Saturday's dramatic Coral-Eclipse

Eminent is a nutcase

Not even a Snickers bar – whose tag line 'get some nuts' is barked by none other than Mr T – is as nutty as Eminent.

With three furlongs to run new partner Silvestre de Sousa tried to move the best horse Martyn Meade has ever trained into a gap that was not really there. It meant a coming together with, and the inconveniencing of, Decorated Knight. So Eminent tried to bite Decorated Knight – like he was a chocolate bar.

Peter Sagan was thrown off the Tour de France for his elbowing of Mark Cavendish in the finish of stage four. Eminent was not disqualified but for all the horse's talent Meade may have more to sort out than who sits on this back. At the very least his behaviour suggested a horse whose mind is not completely on the job of running as fast as he can to the line.

Stoute's patient approach pays dividends time and time again

Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Stoutey and The Beast. Emma Watson and Dan Stevens may have just starred in the remake of the Disney classic, but at Sandown on Saturday it was a case of classic Stoute as Ulysses became the latest to benefit from his patient approach.

Stoute has always believed in the Niarchos family's son of Galileo and having chucked him unsuccessfully into a Derby as a mere maiden winner – albeit an eight-length maiden winner – he has patiently built the horse into today's champion.

He kept him to Group 3 company for the rest of that season before taking his chance in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf. An encouraging fourth there led Stoute to target the Eclipse and he prepped the four-year-old over course and distance in the Group 3 Gordon Richard Stakes, then sent him to finish a credible third at Royal Ascot.

Three Group 1 defeats were not enough to dent Stoute's belief in his horse and Ulysses improved again to take one of the season's premier Group 1s. Far from proving he was not good enough, those three previous Group 1 defeats helped bring Ulysses up to the level required and he travelled through the race like he was a class apart from his rivals before seeing off Barney Roy.

Jim Crowley with the trophy after winning the Coral-Eclipse on SaturdayCredit: Mark Cranham

Crowley is just champion

It was an eventful week for Jim Crowley, who began it losing the ride on Eminent in the Eclipse and ended it winning the race on Ulysses.

Crowley was blamed by some for Eminent running below his potential in the Derby, yet the Eclipse proved two things. One, Eminent is probably not good enough to win a Group 1 just yet whoever is in the saddle, and two, Crowley is going to win his mounts more Group 1s than he costs them.

The champion handled being dropped from Eminent with his usual class and his new mount with his usual skill, dropping Ulysses out, coasting into the race, having the confidence to wait when others would have gone and then timing his effort perfectly to get past Barney Roy while not giving the Godolphin horse any room left to rally. It was a classy ride from a classy individual.

Pacemaker issue continues to raise its head

In recent weeks Lee Mottershead has raised questions surrounding the use of pacemakers and Saturday's Eclipse was ruined more than most by the presence of Taj Mahal on the front.

He not only caused major interference in the back straight – with the stewards handing his Derby-winning jockey Padraig Beggy an eight-day ban – but the main victim was the horse he was meant to be setting the race up for.

Taj Mahal interfered with Decorated Knight, who in turn was pushed down on to Cliffs Of Moher and with nowhere to go on the rail Moore was forced to snatch up the favourite.

After inconveniencing the chances of multiple runners, Taj Mahal then faded to finish last. That more than a few unlucky individuals will have had their £2 on at a big price because they liked the look of him, or his name, or said 'isn't that the jockey who won the Derby on a massive-priced horse for Aidan O'Brien?', only further enhances the argument he should not have been there in the first place.