Blast From The Past: 2000 Eclipse Stakes

‘There’s no doubt that Giant’s Causeway was one of the most popular and most talked-about horses in Europe within recent memory’ said Racehorses of 2000. ‘He put more into the latest season than any of the top horses in terms of effort and this, together with his admirable record of five Group 1 victories and four places from nine starts in such company, means it matters not one iota that he fell a touch short of being the best of his generation.’

His essay went on to praise his ‘toughness, determination and the ability to maintain form at the topmost level for the best part of seven months without a break and without a single easy race. That, and the number of nail-biting finishes in which he was involved, is what set Giant’s Causeway apart from his peers, that is what entitles him to unstinting praise, and that is what led to his being voted Horse of The Year in a poll carried out by the Racehorse Owners Association.’

One of those nail-biting finishes occurred in the Eclipse Stakes, the second of Giant’s Causeway’s five Group 1 successes in 2000, after his sequence started with a head victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Eclipse was the first significant clash of the generations over middle distances and a fascinating one it was too. Besides Giant’s Causeway, who was stepping up in distance, the three-year-olds were represented by Sakhee who, like Cliffs of Moher in this Saturday’s Eclipse, was dropping back in trip after finishing second in the Derby.

Representatives of the older generations included the Queen Anne Stakes winner Kalanisi and the Coronation Cup runner-up Fantastic Light as well as the high-class mare Shiva, winner of the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. Sent off at 8/1, Giant’s Causeway was actually the longest priced of the five main contenders, while Sakhee started the 7/4 favourite in a field of eight. Sakhee was the first to go for home in the straight, but no sooner had Giant’s Causeway seen off that challenge on his inner than Shiva and Kalanisi made their moves on his outside.

‘When Kalanisi caught him inside the final furlong that would have been it for most horses, but not for Giant’s Causeway who, in what was on the way to becoming customary fashion, responded tenaciously to strong handling by George Duffield, deputising for the injured [Michael] Kinane, to rally and get up again for a head victory. The form was first-class – Shiva was two and a half lengths away third, with Sakhee, who had been left behind in the straight, fourth – and this was by some way the best run of Giant’s Causeway’s career to that point.’

Giant’s Causeway and Kalanisi staged a repeat of their tremendous duel later in the summer in the Juddmonte International at York – same result, same margin – after Giant’s Causeway had first dropped back to a mile to win the Sussex Stakes with the relative luxury of three quarters of a length to spare on that occasion. After completing his five-timer in the Irish Champion Stakes, Giant’s Causeway ended his career with two more top-class efforts, though in defeat this time, in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Back to Racehorses for the last word on the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt whose exploits earned him a popular nickname:

‘We defer to no-one in our admiration of Giant’s Causeway’s achievements, but the description ‘The Iron Horse’ should have been consigned to the scrapheap as soon as it appeared. He needed no nickname; his proper name was quite sufficient to send a frisson up the racing public’s spine whenever he tried to add to his Group 1 tally.’