Aidan O'Brien up for a fight as Group 1 superstar with ‘blistering turn of foot' smashed in betting for £1million race
A tidal wave of money for the former means the Group 1 superstars will likely do battle in the awesome £1million Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
1
Delacroix ran a stormer under Ryan Moore to deny William Buick on Ombudsman in a thrilling Coral-Eclipse
Credit: ©Debbie Burt
And sandwiched in the middle is Richard Hannon's star miler Rosallion.
It looked like brilliant St James's Palace winner Field Of Gold would be in a straight head-to-head with Rosallion.
But the fact Delacroix has been destroyed from as big as 25-1 into 5-1 shows 'the lads' at Coolmore fancy their chances at a mile.
Delacroix won the 1m2f Coral-Eclipse on his last run, coming from nowhere under Ryan Moore to nut Ombudsman on the line.
O'Brien said afterwards that Moore had told him he felt Delacroix would be a miler.
And they will now test that theory - after it had looked likely he would head to the Juddmonte at York.
But the money is rarely wrong with the Coolmore horses.
William Hill slashed Delacroix to 5s from 16-1.
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And spokesperson Lee Phelps said: "We're two weeks away from the Sussex Stakes, and the much-anticipated clash between Field Of Gold and Delacroix could be coming sooner than we thought.
"The Juddmonte had seemed their potential first head-to-head, but we've taken notable money for Aidan O'Brien's Eclipse hero to see him more than halve in price for the Sussex.
"He's now a 5-1 shot from 16s, and while he still has a way to go to get to Field Of Gold at 4-7 favourite, his price collapse could suggest that Ballydoyle are seriously considering dropping him back to the mile.
"We'd still expect Field Of Gold to be very hard to beat over this course and distance, but their meeting would be a tantalising prospect for racing fans."
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