Global Weekly Review - 06.07.15

The list of three-year-olds to complete the Derby-Eclipse double is small but impressive; Tulyar (1952), Mill Reef (1971), Nashwan (1989), Sea The Stars (2009), and now, Golden Horn (2015).

Anthony Oppenheimer's colt went to Sandown looking for a place in racing history, and he did just that. He is an outstanding racehorse.

The uphill climb to the finish at the Esher track is stiff and relentless. If there was a suspicion that Golden Horn's stamina might be questionable, it was dispelled in this authoritative victory over a classy, hardy and reliable yardstick, The Grey Gatsby.

No wonder trainer John Gosden is thinking of Ascot's King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes as the next stop for the unbeaten Golden Horn, who has now racked up five wins on the trot. Gosden is in the enviable position of having the two best three-year-old colts in training in his yard at present.

Godolphin and partners' Jack Hobbs, the stylish winner of the Irish Derby, is the other developing three-year-old star at Clarehaven stables.

As a son of the Darley stallion Cape Cross, Golden Horn is a potential sire of great significance. Even if he were never to win another race, his reputation and credibility are established.

From the above list, Sea The Stars progressed to the Juddmonte International, which he won on the bridle in cheeky fashion.

But Nashwan went on to tackle the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and his jockey Willie Carson will tell you that His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's colt was "running on empty" as he repelled his rivals, headed by the Guy Harwood-trained Cacoethes, at Ascot.

The gruelling campaign of Derby, Eclipse and King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes had left its mark on Nashwan. Golden Horn has the talent and brilliance, now the next question: has he also got the toughness? That will be determined at Ascot.

But so far, this colt cannot be faulted. His win in the Coral-Eclipse should be applauded loudly and widely.