Punters disappointed as Royal Ascot looks set to be eclipsed

Connections of Workforce look certain to bypass the Prince Of Wales’ Stakes at Royal Ascot in favour of a run in the Coral Eclipse at Sandown.

Following a winning reappearance at Sandown in May in which the four-year-old justified his 1/1 favouritism, many were hoping to see Workforce take on So You Think at Royal Ascot.

But having avoided a clash with Aiden O’Brien’s So You Think already this year, it seems connections of Workforce are running scared.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah said: “Workforce probably won’t go to Royal Ascot. He is more likely to wait for the Coral-Eclipse.”

The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot could have been one brilliant Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trial had Workforce decided to run against the Southern Hemisphere sensation So You Think.

Instead punters will have to wait until the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July.

So You Think looks certain to line up in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot next week and you can guarantee plenty of hype in the build-up to the race next Wednesday.

The Irish powerhouse Coolmore paid a reported Aus$30m for a majority interest in So You Think, and there are many who believe Aiden O’Brien’s five-year-old has the potential to dominate this season.

As last year’s winner of the Arc, Workforce just edges the favouritism in the ante-post Prix de l’Arc betting at 9/2 with So You Think available at 4/1.

Pour Moi’s win in the Derby has prompted bookmakers to rethink their Prix de l’Arc odds and having taken Workforce’s Derby title, Pour Moi is a 5/1 shot to win the most prestigious race in Europe in October.

All eyes will be on So You Think next week and you can guarantee plenty of ante-post money for Aiden O’Brien’s star should he win the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes