Eclipse Bell Tolls For Motivator

Oratorio shattered 18,000 hearts at Sandown on Saturday as he ended the unbeaten record of Motivator in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes.

A sell-out crowd descended on the Surrey track to see the Vodafone Derby hero, hailed as racing´s next megastar after his Epsom demolition job last month.

The injury-enforced absence of French Derby winner Shamardal had appeared to hand the race to Motivator and bookmakers saw plenty of business for the Michael Bell-trained favourite, even at the prohibitive odds of 2-5.

But some were already filing back across the course in the direction of Esher station less than halfway through the afternoon after Motivator was caught in the final strides by Oratorio, who had not tasted success in four previous appearances this season.

Politely, the crowd clapped as Oratorio and Kieren Fallon returned to the winner´s enclosure, having handed trainer Aidan O´Brien his third success in the race in the last six years.

But in reality, all eyes were on Motivator, surrounded by the brigade of owners from the Royal Ascot Racing Club, as Bell and club manager Harry Herbert tried to come to terms with defeat.

Bell, to his credit, took events with good grace, just as he had dealt with every joyous minute at Epsom four weeks earlier.

'A furlong out we were hailing a champion, so let´s not knock him too much,' he said. 'He may be off his pedestal, but he may yet be back on it.'

All had looked well for Motivator as Johnny Murtagh kicked for home with two furlongs to run.

But Oratorio, a 12-1 chance, who had been pushed along for some way by Fallon, found another gear and stayed on relentlessly to score by half a length.

Motivator took a keen hold early on, with Murtagh calling out to his colleagues for some assistance before Hazyview took the hint and the lead.

The pace slowed - the race was run in a slower time than the preceding handicap - but Motivator was right where his supporters would have wanted him turning for home.

He had everything on the stretch when he quickened, but surprisingly he failed to go clear in the manner expected as Oratorio, who had been miles behind him in the Derby, responded to Fallon´s urgings.

Italian raider Altieri ran a blinder in third, a further two and a half lengths away.

O´Brien said that the big-race atmosphere suited Oratorio, who had looked decidedly bone-idle in his previous race when third in the St James´s Palace Stakes.

'He´s the only horse I have ever trained who puts on weight when he comes to the races,' said the handler.

'When we put him on the scales tomorrow I guarantee that he will have put on two or three kilos - it´s amazing.

'He´s a horse who will keep racing and he will keep getting better and better.

'He´s just so laid-back that I think the noise and the parade really geed him up today. He seemed to rise to the occasion.

'I don´t know if he didn´t stay in the Derby. Mick (Kinane) said he just never felt quite right.

'We might try a mile and a half again in the future, but we will be going back to a mile for his next race in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.'

Reflecting on the rare luxury of escaping the pressure in the build-up to the big race, O´Brien said: 'I certainly didn´t envy Michael Bell, but his horse has run a good race. It was just nice to come here without everyone expecting us to win.'

Fallon added: 'We´d always expected something like this. He has been running on strongly over a mile. A mile and a quarter here, uphill, was always going to suit him.

'This is a very good horse and he´s very tough. He was flying home at the Curragh and he ran on strong at Newmarket. It was always going to happen for him.

'I wasn´t worried about the favourite, to be honest. I thought if this guy gives me his best, he could always win this race. It´s just that to get the best out of him is very difficult.

'He deserved it. He´s run two great Guineas and was flying home at York (in the St James´s Palace Stakes), and a stiff course is always going to suit him.'

Unsurprisingly, plans for Motivator are now on hold while connections mull over today´s events.

Bell suggested the horse´s next scheduled appearance in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Newbury could now be in doubt.

'The race does come a bit soon now - we´ll have to see,' said the trainer.

Totesport and William Hill both pushed Motivator´s price for the Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe out to 4-1.

'He hasn´t run a bad race,' Bell went on. 'To be beaten half a length in the Eclipse is no disgrace. He has still run a good race, and let´s not be blown off course too much. Let´s reflect before we make future plans.

'Maybe he was just in front for too long, I don´t know. The race went pretty much to plan, but he was just picked up by a good horse.'

Murtagh said he was inclined to blame the fast conditions for his mount´s failure to shine in the manner expected.

'It was a bit stop-start - the pace wasn´t that genuine,' said the rider. 'He was a bit on and off the bridle with me, but I thought in the straight he really picked up the bridle and cruised up to Darryll (Holland, on Hazyview).

'At the two marker I thought I was going to pick up and do something similar to the Epsom Derby, but a furlong out he kind of changed his legs and threw his head in the air.

'Basically I always thought this horse wanted a mile and a half and cut in the ground.

'The winner is a good horse and has run in all the top mile races. He probably has a bit of speed, and I´d say he is a pretty good horse.

'My horse didn´t win today, but I´m sure there is still plenty to more to come when he steps back up to a mile and a half.

'My first comment when I first rode him was that he would be a lovely horse to ride in the Arc.

'The ground has dried out since yesterday. It´s genuinely good to firm and it´s just too fast for this horse.'

Co-owner Stefano Luciani was thrilled with the performance of third-placed Altieri.

He said: 'He´s a tough old horse. He was very free early on and saw daylight in the straight, but got blocked by a wall of horses.

'When he saw daylight again he was asked to quicken, but this was the first time he has seen an uphill track and it took him a while to work out what was going on.'

Connections are considering a return to Britain for the Champion Stakes at Newmarket in mid-October.

Philip Robinson said of the disappointing Starcraft: 'We lost the race in the parade ring. He got too excited, simple as that.'

Fallon´s celebrations aboard the winner were briefly silenced after the race when the stewards inquired into his use of the whip.

They banned him for two days (July 13 and 14), having found that he used his whip in the forehand position without giving his mount time to respond.

? PA Sport