Is next week’s Betfred Eclipse Final the best ‘Cat 1’ final of the last decade?

That might be a loaded question but look at the quality of the final field following Monday night’s semi finals.

The opening qualifier featured the two Angela Harrison trained Cat 1 winners. In white was Droopys Buick (5-2), while in six was All England Cup winner and 2-1f Droopys Expert (Greenwell Haw-Droopys Rhiona, Oct 15). However Calico Blackjack(T6 7-2) would also be a major player. . .

The winner’s time of 29.26 (all heats +50) was the fastest of the year and just 10 spots outside the track record.

 

The second semi final saw Bubbly Bluebird (Droopys Sydney-Broadstrand Xola, Sep 14) go to the blue box as the 4-5f. In a five runner race (Newinn Shadow w/d) and according to the betting, his biggest danger was likely to be Bruisers Bullet (T4 9-4). It proved to be a cracker and this is how it went

The winner’s time was 29.38  and the winning distance was a neck.

 

The final qualifier featured 6-4 joint favourites in the black jacketed Dorotas Wildcat (Ballymac Vic-Droopys Danneel, May 15) and the sensational first round winner Calico Ranger (T6) . . .

The winner’s time was 29.47 and the distance, three quarters of a length.

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I reckon this is the highest quality line-up of any field I have seen in the last decade – and that would include Derby finals and Select Stakes. If you can think of one to challenge it, I would love to hear it [email protected]