Cox looking forward to Eclipse task with Ghostwriter

Clive Cox is keen for Ghostwiter to take his place in a red-hot Coral-Eclipse early next month, as long as conditions at Sandown do not turn testing in the build-up.

With the sun finally emerging from its early-season hiatus and summer ground now appearing in going descriptions on a regular basis, the Beechdown Stables handler is excited to test Ghostwriter’s credentials in deep waters buoyed by his performance on unsuitable heavy conditions at Chantilly in the French Derby.

The Royal Lodge winner’s quality enabled him to finish fourth in that Classic assignment – beaten a little over three lengths – while he also performed with enormous credit prior to that when also fourth in the 2000 Guineas.

Derby hero City Of Troy and Tattersalls Gold Cup winner White Birch are just two high-class opponents Ghostwriter could face at the Esher track on July 6, where Cox hopes the son of Invincible Spirit can make his mark if competing on a sound surface.

Cox said: “Ghostwriter is in great form and worked really well on Saturday morning. As long as we don’t have soft ground for Sandown in a couple of weeks time, then at the moment we are hopefully heading to the Eclipse.

“The Guineas form keeps getting franked day by day and I do feel that his performance on the slightly easier ground in France would lead us to being quite excited about returning to a quicker surface over a mile and a quarter.

“It could be a very deep race but we are looking forward to it.”