Stack's Thunder Eclipse off the mark in style The 13/8 favourite Thunder Eclipse ran out an easy winner of the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden in the hands of Chris Hayes. The Fozzy Stack-trained Holy Roman Emperor colt, third behind Queen Mary winner Quick Suzy on debut and placed in his next three starts, left behind a moderate effort at Fairyhouse with a smooth display here. Having tracked the pace-setting Doitforandrew, the winner led travelling well over a furlong out and was ridden clear to beat Gaire Os Ard by five lengths, with the early leader finding no extra back in third. Hayes said: “The last day was the only disappointing run he had but he got struck into quite early in that race. I didn’t notice it until I couldn’t take the bend on him and couldn’t get him to switch leads. “Fozzy and the team have done a good job to get him back as quick as they have. He strode out well and handled that ground. That was my concern whether he would go on it or not. “Off the top of my head I would love to ride him in a Birdcatcher but I presume there will be a race between now and then.” Quotes from Alan Magee
