Eclipse antepost: young improver stands out at 33/1 in hazy market

There's plenty of swirling chaos in the aftermath of Ombudsman's crushing victory in yesterday's Prince of Wales Stakes. The havov wreaked on The AntePoster's finances aside – our chips had been pushed firmly into the middle of the baize when Daryz was pushed into 5/2 territory – one interesting outcome was the uncertainty over the presence of the Gosdens' equine (super)star in the next Group 1 in the British calendar over the same distance: the Coral Eclipse at Sandown in 16 days' time.

Ombudsman backed up quickly in that race last year but was overhauled in the final half-furlong. Perhaps it was just an "aftermath excuse" on the part of the trainer that his Ascot exertions had left their mark on their stable star that day when he finished behind Delacroix at Sandown, but it was interesting that John Gosden was on the fence yesterday when asked about backing up in the Eclipse again this year on 4 July:

"We always watch them for a week to ten days and the horse will tell you. We know their habits, when they're right and when they're quiet. The Juddmonte International would be a major target for him and we know he likes the track."

So maybe he will go and maybe he won't, whereas York is set in stone. But clearly Ombudsman has some recovering to do after a monster effort, for all that he bounced back well enough to beat all but one horse last year.

But the cloud of doubt over contender participation doesn't stop with the Eclipse favourite – it runs through the betting for this race like a stick of rock. The next tier of contenders includes Opera Ballo (likely to stay over a mile for the Sussex Stakes), two Aga Khan beasts who have zero chance of running (Calandangan and Daryz), and a gaggle of Ballydoyle stars that will most certainly be whittled down to just one or possibly two (pacemaker aside). In short, The AntePoster feels this market is ripe for playing.

There is one particularly interesting horse lower down the betting who looks to be a serious place contender at a big price. That would be Saddadd for Roger Varian. At 33/1, we think he simply has to be played now before the bookmakers re-evaluate this market in the aftermath of the Royal Meeting.

Aside from the doubts over the rest of the market and his firmly intended presence after skipping the Prince of Wales to target this race, the case for this son of Pinatubo being a force to be reckoned with at Sandown is fairly straightforward: Saddadd is an improving four-year-old who is not yet fully exposed, while his first try in Group 1 company last time out needs serious marking up.

The race question was the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland on 24 may, won by Almaqam from Bay City Roller. Saddadd was given what can only be described as an exaggerated waiting ride, held up way off in the pace in last and finding himself many lengths adrift of the leaders when the first two made their move.

The way he made up ground in the final two furlongs at The Curragh was eyecatching, and by the time they passed the post he was right on the heels of the front two. That was a deep race. The winner Almaqam almost certain didn't cope with lightning-fast ground in the Prince of Wales, but Bay City Roller certainly coped with the opposite when running out an easy winner of the Coronation Cup.

And what of Minnie Hauk? In light of her superb run to finish second in the Prince of Wales yesterday, her performance in Ireland must be put down to an off day. But it is interesting that Aidan O'Brien laid the blame firmly at the "pace going out of the race" in the middle section, which left her too far back when the racing began in earnest. In actually fact, Minnie Hauk was nothing like as far back as Saddadd, who was plumb last when they turned for home but powered past both her and the rest of the field in the final furlong and a half.

In summary, Saddadd appeals as a talented and progressive Group 1 horse who may well have more to give. Surely not good enough to beat Ombudsman if that one turns up (literally and figuratively), but otherwise definitely good enough to rattle the Eclipse bar at a huge price. We feel 33/1 is too good to ignore on a colt who is as short as 14/1 with one major bookmaker.

Recommendation: Back Saddadd each-way at 33/1 with Bet365 to win the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday 4 July. The 25/1 generally available elsewhere (including Paddy Power, Skybet, Betfred, Unibet) is obviously nothing like as tasty but still worthy of a wager.