A trip from Hawkesbury to Melbourne has paid dividends for trainer Mike Van Gestel, after Casino Dancer, by Casino Prince, won the Eclipse Stakes in great fashion at Sandown Park.

The mare was showing consistent form in Sydney, which prompted her trainer to head further afield to Melbourne for the spring, it doesn’t get any better.

Casino Dancer was travelling well, just off the pace after drawing a rather awkward barrier position; she soon overcame that and was handy entering the straight.

She was coming off a good run after finishing third to Lucia Valentina in the Matron Stakes, on the last day of the Flemington Carnival.

Her stay was a short but profitable, she was on the float the following morning for the 11 hours drive back to Hawkesbury.

The Eclipse Stakes was first run at Caulfield back in 1934, the winner, Burlesque, won it again the following year, each time Hall Mark finished third.

First run at Sandown U K in 1886, named in memory of the racehorse Eclipse, he was foaled on 5th of April 1764, a day when England witnessed a total eclipse of the sun.

This coincidence was in a certain sense a premonition of what was to be the fortunes of his male line in the future.

Eclipse was a difficult horse to manage; he never raced until he was five, winning all of his nine starts.

A further 12 starts as a six year old had the same result, he raced 21 times over two seasons and remained unbeaten.

He proved a great sire of stamina, reflected on the progeny he sired, being four removed from the Darley Arabian, a dominant male line that has proved highly successful over so many generations

The team from Hawkesbury