Dr T J Eckleberg
Dr T J Eckleberg kept on well to finish third in the two-mile handicap chase at Sandown last Saturday. Toward the rear from early, he just couldn’t go the early gallop. Last of the 11 runners passing the winning post with a circuit to go, he and Rath Gaul Hill were detached from the main body of the field as they started off down the back straight. He wasn't great over the Railway Fences, and he was still well off the pace leaving the back straight, but he made good ground as they raced out of the back straight and towards the Pond Fence, and he made rapid progress to move in behind the leaders as they raced around the home turn. It looked like he was going to play a big part in the finish at that point, he traded at 1.52 in-running, but the energy that he had to expend in order to move into a challenging position obviously took its toll in the end. He was high over the second last and he couldn't go with Jax Junior from there, but he still kept on well to finish third, just three parts of a length behind runner-up Classic Maestro.
It was a good run by Evan Williams' horse, his best run since he finished fifth in the Red Rum Chase at Aintree last April. The winner is a progressive individual, and Dr T J Eckleberg was fastest of all through the 12th, 13th and 14th furlongs, in a race in which the pace held up well. Second in this race last year off a mark of 124, he is 4lb lower now and, while he is not unexposed or anything like it, that makes him interesting for some of those good two-mile handicap chases as we move into the spring. He did well to get as close as he did in the Red Rum Chase last year from the rear, in a race in which the prominent racers dominated, and he will be of interest in that race again this year.
Sandown, 31st January 2026
Back