Delacroix closes in on top three-year-old honours with Coral-Eclipse rating boost
Delacroix has earned a Timeform rating of 129+ (from 116p) following his dramatic victory in the Coral-Eclipse on Saturday and is now rated only 3 lb behind leading three-year-old Field Of Gold (132p) who is also the highest-rated horse in Europe.
Beaten Derby favourite Delacroix was the only runner in Saturday's six-strong field who hadn't won at the highest level, but he showed much-improved form to collar Ombudsman (remains 130), Timeform's highest-rated four-year-old in Europe.
Ombudsman wasn't quite at his best only 17 days after such an impressive performance in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, but Delacroix still deserves plenty of credit for making up so much ground inside the final furlong, and his new rating has been upgraded to take into account his troubled passage and his fast closing sectional.
The Eclipse was also the best race of the season so far based on the average Timeform master rating of the first three home (127.3). It narrowly topped the Coronation Cup which had an average rating of 127.
Tony McFadden, deputy racing editor at Timeform and Sporting Life, said: "Delacroix failed to meet expectations in the Derby but, in beating a top-notch older rival in remarkable fashion, his effort at Sandown has been rated as comfortably the best by a middle-distance three-year-old this season. Indeed, he is rated half a stone superior to Derby and Irish Derby winner Lambourn, the horse he beat emphatically in the Ballysax Stakes in March.
"Star miler Field Of Gold has achieved a slightly higher level of form than Delacroix as things stand, but both colts could still have more to offer so a clash between the pair in the Juddmonte International Stakes could define the division.
"Last year's Juddmonte was won by City Of Troy who produced a career-best performance to beat Calandagan and earn a Timeform rating of 130p. It's interesting that Delacroix has already reached a similar level."
Timeform's highest-rated three-year-olds:
132p Field of Gold
129+ Delacroix
123 Henri Matisse
123 Ruling Court
122 Lambourn
Main Photo Credit: Alamy
READ NEXT: Wimbledon betting tips: Cameron Norrie good enough to claim a set against Alcaraz at SW19
