Irish trainer Donnacha O’Brien has admitted that taking on his father Aidan on a regular basis is an “impossible task” – but still hopes to land Saturday’s £1 million Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park with his first ever runner in the race, A Boy Named Susie.
The favourite for this weekend’s Group One contest is Constitution River, whose trainer Aidan O’Brien is also represented by Hawk Mountain and Flushing Meadows. O’Brien senior has already saddled a record nine Coral-Eclipse winners and is aiming to become the first handler to win the 10-furlong highlight four years running.
However, son Donnacha has some talented horses in his own yard and is looking forward to pitching one of his best against his father at Sandown Park on Saturday afternoon.
On the challenge he faces in taking on his father, Donnacha said: “That’s an impossible task for everyone. What he’s doing is incredible and I don’t think there’s any point waking up in the morning and saying I’m going to train 30 Group One winners this year.
“It just doesn’t work like that. But it’s great to be able to see what he’s doing, and I guess be some kind of small part in it.
“I’m competitive as much as anyone, but I’m competing with, everyone in Ireland is competing with Joseph (brother) and dad, day in, day out. It’s so tough to beat them.
“I think everyone in Ireland is kind of the same. We’re happy to see them go onto the world stage and beat everyone else because it kind of shows what we’re competing against every day. It’s nice to see them go and do that everywhere in the world.”
Although the Coral-Eclipse was a rare Group One race that eluded Donnacha during his riding days, the 27-year-old believes A Boy Named Susie – the son of Starspangledbanner – is a serious performer.
Last seen when fourth in the Group One Prix du Jockey Club, the French Derby, at Chantilly on May 31st, he was beaten just under three lengths in that contest by Constitution River, after not receiving the clearest of runs in the closing stages.
Reflecting on the decision to target the Coral-Eclipse, Donnacha said today on a Zoom call organised by The Jockey Club: “It was either Sandown or the Irish Derby. We are kind of not sure about the 12 furlongs just yet. I think it’s probably within his range, but Saturday is the race that we were working towards from the French Derby and there wasn’t any reason to change our mind. His work programme was always towards here, and we’ve just stuck to that plan.”
Looking back on the colt’s performance in the Prix du Jockey Club, Donnacha continued: “It’s a hard one to know. As I said, we kind of hoped that we could follow Ryan (Moore, rider of Constitution River) out of the stalls, which is what the plan was. I think the pace was pretty hot early and I think that’s kind of overlooked.
“Dad’s horses, they went very quick early from wide draws. You look at the horses that followed them, that sat fourth and fifth, they finished nowhere in the end. Looking at the race, you’d say, ‘Oh, we were a bit unlucky because we flashed home’, but I wouldn’t say it’s a guarantee that any horse that used that much petrol to go with them early would have finished as strong as what he did.
“It doesn’t look like he has a mile and a half pedigree. The other thing is, in Chantilly, you’re turning from a long way and what that does is that the field just naturally takes a sit. The pace just naturally goes out even though it doesn’t look like it because you’re turning the whole time and it just turns into basically a mile and a quarter that’s not as stiff as maybe what it looks because the whole field ends up having to take a sit for even two or three furlongs.
“It’s a stiff mile and a half at the Curragh and we knew the pace would be on. To be honest with you, looking back at the race, I’m glad we didn’t go there because it turned into a real test of stamina. I’m not saying we’ll never try mile and a half, but I think the Irish Derby probably wasn’t the place to try it.
“He’s in good form. It’s hard to know whether he has improved since France. His weights are pretty similar. His work is good. He’s always been a good work horse.
“He looks great. So, there’s no metric that I could tell you that he’s a 10 pounds better horse here than he was in France. But I guess the question is whether he was unlucky in France or not.
“That’s kind of a thing that we’ll figure out on Saturday, whether if we had followed the pace, we would have been able to beat them or would we have paid for that later on? So I guess that’s where you’re hoping that the few lengths will come out of.
“He’s a big, tall horse. And I think he’s going to improve throughout the year and even into next year. So, I’d be hoping that he has improved to some degree.”
Assessing his rivals on Saturday, the trainer said: “Obviously, Constitution River looks a very good horse. Gethin looks a good horse, Saddadd the same. Hawk Mountain too – they’re very strong, proper Group One horses.
“I think the small field will help them, but it looks like a proper strong Group One and whatever wins, it’ll have to be a very, very good horse.
“Constitution River looks very good. I thought he looked very good in Chester. I thought he really did things the hard way in France.
“He used plenty of petrol early. He stuck wide and didn’t look particularly comfortable on the track. And he still found a way to win. So, you know, on horses like that, they’re able to win ugly. It’s often a sign of a real good horse.
“We’ve seen champions all throughout the years be able to do that. We’ll see. We’re still going to take them on and do our best.
“Oisín (Murphy) rides A Boy Named Susie. He rode him in Leopardstown early on in the year. Oisín’s a great rider. He knows his English tracks very well and whenever he’s available, we’re happy to use him.”
Although A Boy Named Susie has only won one of his seven starts to date, when scoring on debut at Killarney in July of last year, Donnacha still believes he has a very serious horse on his hands, although he admits the colt has perhaps not always been the easiest of rides.
He said: “We actually always thought he was very, very good. He went to the Curragh, did a very impressive bit of work about three weeks before and then went to Killarney and bolted up. We kind of got a bit excited then. His next two runs were disappointing with no obvious reasons, but he got a bit worked up before both of them.
“And then after that, we got him back on track. But we’ve always thought that he was very good. He’s just probably taken a little bit more time to really be a high-class horse.
“But, you know, that’s to be expected. This year and even towards the end of last year, I haven’t seen anything to suggest that he’s not a very good horse just yet.
“I think in a few of his runs, you could say he’s arguably been unlucky. Part of that he probably does to himself, but I think with a smoother run, he could have won the Derby Trial early on in the year, won by (subsequent Betfred Derby winner) Christmas Day, when he just lost by a nose or two. Obviously in the French Derby, he looked a tad unlucky.
“I think he’s a horse that has been a little bit unlucky and he’s very unlucky not to certainly be a Stakes winner somewhere along the way.
“It’s funny. It’s nearly easier to bowl along in front than it is to go forward and then slot into a position because at least if you’re along in front, you can get them into a rhythm.
“With him, he’s a little bit funny with his mouth. You have to have a soft pair of hands with him. If you put him into gear, it’s hard to get him out of it. So, the two options we’ve had so far with him is just let him relax and take our time or you could let him bowl along in front, but we haven’t done that yet. But I think he’s coming. Mentally, he’s starting to get it together and as he gets older, he’ll get easier to ride, I think.”
A Boy Named Susie runs in the colours of Donnacha’s sister Ana, who also bred the colt, and the trainer concluded: “Ana is good. I think she’s excited and I think she’ll be there on Saturday – it’s a family affair.”
Coral sponsors the Eclipse for the 51st time in 2026, making the Coral-Eclipse the oldest Pattern race sponsorship to be found anywhere in the world.
David Stevens of Coral said: “The market is headed by the right horse – I don’t think anyone would argue with that. When Constitution River won at Chester, I was actually standing next to Kevin Buckley, who is the Coolmore man over here. And as soon as he passed the post, Kevin turned to me and said, there’s your Coral-Eclipse winner.
“He obviously went to France and won the race in extraordinary circumstances to lead home that one, two, three for Aidan. And as I say, he’s a very worthy favourite, 11-10 at the moment.
“At the start of the week, we weren’t expecting to get Hawk Mountain and Constitution River. I think we felt it was going to be one or the other. So, when it was announced yesterday that we were getting them both, that’s fantastic news because Hawk Mountain, a Group One-winning juvenile in his own right, runner-up in the Prix de Jockey Club, he gives Aidan such a strong hand. It’s no surprise that Aiden has won the race nine times and is going for a record fourth in a row.
“The Coral-Eclipse is a race that is of great importance to Ballydoyle and to Coolmore. I’ve been lucky enough to go over to Ireland and see Sadler’s Wells, winner of this race in 1984. Sadler’s Wells was a huge part of what’s gone on since at Coolmore and so it is a race that’s of great importance.
“It’s also the clash of the generations and we have that this year. We have Gethin and we have Saddadd representing the older horses. Neither have yet made that Group One breakthrough, but both have got the form to do so.
“Gethin is 4-1, Saddadd is 13-2, Hawk Mountain’s in there at 5-1. And then the final one at single-figure odds is Donnacha’s runner that we’ve heard all about, A Boy Named Susie at 15-2, so it’s a terrific race.
“We always watch entries carefully because more often than not, it is a small but select field. But I think everyone at Coral is delighted to have the seven we’ve got this year.
“I think there is every possibility Constitution River could start odds on. He has that profile. I think if there is a superstar in the race then it’s him. And that’s with all respect to the rivals that take him on. He did look good at Chester, and I thought what he did at Chantilly was fantastic.”
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