Small field 'not uncommon' for Eclipse as Sandown addresses lack of runners

A lack of viable contenders for the Coral-Eclipse has been put forward by Sandown’s director of racing Andrew Cooper as a potential reason for the small field for Saturday’s Group 1.

Only seven horses were confirmed for the contest on Monday with the final field decided at declarations on Thursday, when at least one of the horses is set to be withdrawn with Wonderful Tonight’s trainer David Menuisier stating on Monday it is “99.9 per cent not the plan to run”.

The paucity of runners for the historic prize, which provides an early opportunity for three-year-olds to take on the older horses at the top level, led Menuisier to label the situation “stupid” and question why so few horses were left in the race for which entries were first made on May 11.