Saturday ITV Racing Tips: Mark Milligan with four selections on Eclipse Day at up to 11/2

• Mark has four selections on Saturday

• Progressive Balding filly his best bet

• Delacroix can upset the favourite in the big one

Timeform Superboost

Ombudsman was a very impressive winner of the Group 1 Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot last month and he's a strong favourite to win another Group 1, the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, today. 

However, the Betfair Sportsbook have super-boosted his price to win today's race to 7/42.75. To take advantage of this super-boosted price, just click on the odds in the below bet banner to go direly to the pre-loaded betslip.

*Please Note: This Superboost is provided by the Betfair Sportsbook and not by any of our writers or tipsters.

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13:50 Sandown - Back Kerdos @ 4/15.00

3 (5)

Kerdos (Ire)

• J: Christophe Soumillon
• T: Clive Cox
• F:

Eclipse day at Sandown kicks off with the Group 3 Charge over 5f and there are sound reasons for thinking Kerdos retains all the ability he showed when winning last season's Temple Stakes at Haydock.

Clive Cox's five-year-old was only seventh of eight on his comeback at York over 6f, but he ran a fine race when dropped back to this trip in the King Charles III at Royal Ascot last time, finishing fifth to American Affair, and the metrics tell us he was better than the bare result that day, too.

In my role as a Timeform handicapper, I have to factor in the effect of the draw in sprint races where the field race in two or more groups and we use data-based metrics to assess that rather than just pure guesswork.

In the case of the King Charles III, a small group raced on the far side, and we've assessed them as being inconvenienced to the tune of around 6lb compared to the bigger group that made up the first four in the race.

Kerdos was first home in that small group and would almost certainly have played a hand in the finish had he raced with the bigger group. With that in mind, he looks to have been a little underestimated by the market here and I'd have him a clear favourite.

14:25 Sandown - Back Greek Order @ 11/43.75

6 (9)

Greek Order

• J: Ryan Moore
• T: Michael Bell
• F:

Similar sentiments apply to Greek Order in the following 1m handicap, and he makes plenty of appeal with Ryan Moore in the saddle. This one showed plenty of ability when trained by Harry & Roger Charlton in 2022/23 before being transferred to Bill Mott for a spell in the USA.

He didn't cut much ice over there but has since joined Michael Bell and showed he retains all his ability and enthusiasm for the game when finishing fourth in the Hunt Cup on his stable debut.

Along with the highly progressive winner, Greek Order raced stand side and they were both well clear of the rest of that group. As with Kerdos, his effort can certainly be upgraded.

Ryan Moore knows the horse well too, having ridden him four times when he was trained by the Charltons, and the selection holds a fitness edge over main market rival Treasure Time.

15:00 Sandown - Back Blue Bolt @ 7/42.75

2 (3)

Blue Bolt (Ire)

• J: C. T. Keane
• T: Andrew Balding
• F:

Blue Bolt looks a filly of some potential and she can take the next step up the ladder in the Listed 1m Distaff for Andrew Balding and the new Juddmonte/Colin Keane partnership.

The daughter of Blue Point left her debut effort well behind when bolting up in a Windsor novice in April, form that was subsequently franked by the third winning a maiden on her next outing.

The selection then followed up in a similar contest at Newbury, quickening clear and looking set to win by daylight before being eased down in the last 100 yards or so and good value for much more than the winning margin of just over a length.

This is clearly a step up, but Blue Bolt is most definitely going the right way, and I expect her to continue her rider's good start in these silks as he becomes established as the owner's retained jockey.

15:35 Sandown - Back Delacroix @ 11/26.50

4 (3)

Delacroix (Ire)

• J: Ryan Moore
• T: Aidan O'Brien, Ireland
• F:

There's little doubt that Ombudsman was impressive when winning the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and he's rightly favourite for the Eclipse, but he does have quite a quick turnaround to deal with and also has to give a chunk of weight-for-age away to the three-year-olds in the race.

That makes him a swerve for me at a short price and I prefer the claims of Delacroix, who looks to continue Aidan O'Brien's fine run in Group 1 races this term.

The son of Dubawi started his season in fine fashion by winning both the Ballysax and the Derby Trial at Leopardstown, and then met trouble when down the field at Epsom, some early interference putting him on the back foot and never really going after that.

Given that his dam was best up to a mile, it's highly likely that Delacroix will prove best at up to this trip in any case and there's every chance he'll end up in a better early position than the favourite in this small field.

It's possible that Ryan Moore could even dictate proceedings with a decent break and he'll prove tough to peg back if that's the case.

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