Telecaster Provides Eclipse Value Against Enable

The Eclipse Stakes looks to be a cracker, with eight horses going to post and some hugely talented animals. Of course, the main talking horse here is Enable and the superstar filly is already odds on to win the race ahead of what promises to be another exciting season.

The main target for her is going to be the Arc once again over at Longchamp, a race she is trying to win for the third time. This will almost certainly be her last season as a racehorse, with the breeding barn calling her name, and it is a surprise to see her back as a five year old as many would have retired her a lot earlier than this. When you add into the mix that her owner also owns Frankel, and how exciting their offspring together would be, we should cherish every moment we have watching Enable on a racecourse.

She is the rightful favourite for this race, although having her first run back and knowing that this is not the race they are preparing her for is enough for me to pass her over at odds on. She is favourite, she should be the favourite but at odds on she offers no value whatsoever from a betting point of view.

The second favourite for the race is Magical, and based on her second at Royal Ascot behind Crystal Ocean, she is certainly capable of winning a top quality Group One race like this one. As far as the form from this year goes, her run at Royal Ascot is the best piece of form we have on offer here. If Enable does slip up in any way then providing that Magical runs up to her last run, she won’t be too far behind and ready to take advantage.

The bookmakers have her priced up right though at around 4/1, and she doesn’t offer the chance to bet each way in the race, which many people will be wanting to do. If you fancy her to win then of course she is a nice price, but there will be many people out there looking for each way value here, and that lies a little further down the betting list.

I think the each way value in the race is Telecaster, a horse who I have been very fond of since watching him make his debut. Since then he has come a long way, winning the Dante Stakes at York, which is known as one of the best Derby trials we have and then completely bombing out in the Derby itself on what was a very disappointing afternoon. Something wasn’t right that day, either the occasion, the race coming too soon or the distance of 1m4f, whatever it was, we certainly didn’t see the real Telecaster line up.

Of course if you are backing him here like I am doing then the first thing you have to do is forgive him that run, which I am more than happy to do. If you blame the distance, this is back at 1m2f, the same as the Dante, if you blame the occasion, this is a big meeting, but far lower key than the Derby meeting and the big crowds that flock to it. If you blame the race coming too quickly, he has been off for 35 days since the Derby, plenty of time to get right again.

When I said that Magical had the best piece of 2019 form in the race, I think Telecaster has the second best with his Dante win. Although Too Darn Hot hasn’t really given it a boost, he thrashed Japan in the race and that horse has since come out and finished 3rd in the Derby and demolished a good field at Royal Ascot.

Those backing Mustashry may disagree on the 2019 form, he did with the Lockinge Stakes after all this year, but that was over one mile and I don’t think this horse needs 1m2f, regardless of how good that form looks.

That is a look at the main contenders for the race, and Telecaster keeps drawing me back. Of course I respect Enable but this is a look at the race from a betting point of view, and she has no value at all based on the price she is at the moment.

Instead, I’ll be putting my money on Telecaster, who is a 14/1 shot at the moment and offers tremendous value. If everything runs to the best of its ability then he has a chance of placing based on his run in the Dante Stakes. However, if Enable happens to need the race and performs below her best then he is one of a few horses who have the ability to win this one, I think we will get a good run for our money here.