Sea The Stars no Motivator says Bell

Oaks winning trainer Michael Bell is confident that the fate suffered by his Derby winner, Motivator, does not await Sea The Stars in this year’s Coral-Eclipse.

In 2005, the trainer’s superstar ran out an impressive winner of the Derby at Epsom, only to be beaten when dropped down in trip a month layer.  However he does not believe that Sea The Stars will have the same problem when he tackles 1m2f for the first time on Saturday.

Michael Bell, who has bagged Group 1 vitcories with Sariska and Art Connoisseur this year, said: "I think you can't be too blinkered about horses's flexibility for trips.  In other countries, they chop and change their trips, especially in the southern hemisphere and Australia. People there are far more flexible about the trips their horses run over.

"I think you can argue that horses will have their very best form at a certain ¬distance, but that doesn't mean they won't be nearly as effective either dropped back or stepped up."

Bookmakers seem keen to ignore the fact that since Nashwan’s victory in the Eclipse, four Derby winners have failed to get their nose in front in the Sandown feature, including the highly regarded Authorized in 2007.

Coral-Eclipse: Head of the market

Sea The Stars           10/11  (PaddyPower)
Conduit                        4/1  (Ladbrokes)
Rip Van Winkle            4/1  (BlueSquare)
Cima De Triomphe     10/1  (Bet365)

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Tags: Coral Eclipse, John Oxx, Motivator, Sariska, Sea The Stars