Latest news with #Juddmonte International
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Ombudsman storms to victory in G1 Juddmonte International
Ombudsman registered a second top-level success and avenged his Eclipse Stakes defeat as he decisively beat Delacroix in the G1 Juddmonte International, with Birr Castle running an extraordinary race to take third in the York showpiece on Wednesday. Supplemented into the race to ensure a strong pace, Birr Castle lived up his duties as Rab Havlin sent the Andre Fabre-trained five-year-old into an early 10-length advantage. Danon Decile raced in second, with William Buick happy to track the Dubai Sheema Classic winner on Ombudsman in third. Birr Castle streaked further clear and had around 20 lengths in hand over his five rivals at the top of the straight. The pack started to close approaching the final quarter-mile, with Night Of Thunder colt Ombudsman unleashing a potent turn of foot to reel in the leader just inside the final furlong. Ombudsman powered clear to become only the third horse to win the Prince Of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International in the same year. Eclipse victor Delacroix made late gains to snatch second from Birr Castle inside the final half-furlong, finishing three and a half lengths adrift of the impressive John & Thady-Gosden trained winner. John Gosden said: 'I realised when the Japanese jockey took back, I thought 'uh oh', and then at the two-furlong pole, I thought it looked dangerous. Luckily, when they started properly racing, Ombudsman showed that brilliant turn of foot, and William said he went from second gear straight to fifth. He went into overdrive and won well, clearly from Delacroix, so that settles the Eclipse story, which was a muddling affair. 'The pacemaker is a proper Black Type horse from France with a turn of foot. He was cruising along and then kicked, taking another five lengths out of the field. All is well that ends well, but I can tell you that it was a nervous time. 'The obvious races for Ombudsman are the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the Champion Stakes at Ascot. He is entered in the Arc, but I would not want to run him in deep ground. He has that wonderful acceleration, which is hard to show in heavy ground. The mile and a half at Del Mar could be a possibility. We will see how he is when we get him home and go from there. 'We always thought Ombudsman was top class, but he had an injury at two and then we brought him along gently as a three-year-old. He is a very smart horse, although there is no doubt that when the ground is slow, he does not like it. He could be the dominant horse over this distance, provided the ground is not soft or heavy.'
Irish Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ombudsman eventually sweeps to York glory after another 150-1 pacemaker threatens upset
The saying is pace makes the race and if the 150-1 pacemaker Birr Castle threatened to turn Wednesday's Juddmonte International into a farce he ultimately set it up perfectly for Ombudsman to stamp his authority in York. For much of the race, though, it looked like turning into a repeat of last month's Sussex Stakes when another 150-1 pacemaker, Qirat, held out for an unlikely victory as the big guns behind him involved themselves in a tactical morass. Birr Castle was sent from France by Andre Fabre to cut out the pace for Godolphin's 7-4 favourite Ombudsman and try to avoid the muddling tempo blamed for the latter's defeat by Aidan O'Brien's Delacroix in Sandown's Eclipse. Rab Havlin did his job to the letter and cut out even fractions on Birr Castle. But the five other big guns, led by Japan's Danon Decile, opted to sit off him, concentrating on each other rather than the leader. At halfway Birr Castle was clear. On the turn in he had a lead of up to 30 lengths. READ MORE 'I thought two furlongs out Andre had won the race!' admitted Ombudsman's relieved joint-trainer John Gosden. Beforehand Fabre had joked to the Englishman about wanting another Qirat result. But it was a gag that threatened to get very close to the bone. Gosden's Field Of Gold was the biggest gun of all in the Sussex, but this time Ombudsman eventually came through to pick off Birr Castle, William Buick getting all the plaudits for judgment that winning riders usually get. Godolphin's sixth winner of the prestigious race ultimately reversed Sandown form with Delacroix by three-and-a-half lengths. Birr Castle plugged on for an unlikely third with See The Fire beating Danon Decile for fourth. If the 'right' horse won according to the market it still made for an unsatisfactory spectacle for such a major race. It also underlined once again that for all that pacemakers supposedly ensure an even gallop for everyone, they can come with a level of peril too. 'It was just a sprint, just a mess, really,' said O'Brien, someone usually keener than most to use pacemakers, although reliant solely on Delacroix this time. Buick, for his part, adopted a 'never in doubt' position, although the race hardly unfolded predictably. Rossa Ryan riding Pride Of Arras (right) to win the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York. Photograph:'A lot of things were going through my mind. I didn't expect Danon Decile to take back, I thought he wanted to chase the pace. Rab did his job beautifully and his horse finished third. 'This horse put in an amazing performance – unbelievable – so I'm delighted with him. He's a very, very special horse and he showed all his attributes today,' he said. Next month's Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown is Ombudsman's likely next port of call where complicated pace scenarios are hardly unknown either. 'What happened was the Japanese jockey was with Rab but then he kept taking back and let Rab slip the field. Past the two marker, he was still six lengths in front. William said when he let him go, he absolutely flew and went from second gear to fifth gear in the blink of an eye,' Gosden said. 'This is a great win, but I did think for a moment Andre would be the lucky man!' he added. It was a frustrating day for O'Brien whose dual-Derby winner Lambourn was one of four Ballydoyle runners in the Great Voltigeur, only for none of them to make the frame. Instead, it was Pride Of Arras who repeated his course win in May's Dante on his first run after a gelding operation. Due to that unkind cut he can't run in the St Leger but Paddy Twomey's runner-up Carmers is on course for Doncaster and another possible duel with Lambourn, who was only fifth. O'Brien said: 'He went grand, they went steady and he's lazy, I think it was a steadily-run race. All of them ran grand. The reason we ran Lambourn here was so that he had the option of either the Leger or the Arc. I don't think the Leger trip will be a problem, we know he stays a mile and a half well.' O'Brien's Italy had to settle for second in the Group Three Acomb Stakes behind the Andrew Balding winner Gewan.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I'm loading up on the 15-1 Aidan O'Brien-Ryan Moore treble I can't see losing on day one of York
BANG. Bang. Bang. That could be Aidan O'Brien at York on Wednesday as Ireland's super trainer bids to take top billing on the super Knavesmire as he sends out the exciting Italy and monsters in Derby hero Lambourn and Eclipse demolisher Delacroix. 1 Oh yes, the Juddmonte International fixture gets off with a bang, with DELACROIX trying to follow up his victory over Royal Ascot hero Ombudsman in a messy Coral feature at Sandown. And the big Group 1, live on ITV, is not just about familiar names at the top level. Challenging from Japan is Danon Decile, who when last seen defeated the brilliant Calandagan in the Sheema Classic at Meydan in April. Back in fourth that day was the multiple Group 1 hero Rebel's Romance. Ironically for a race called 'internationaI', it is 50 years since Dahlia's second win in the Juddmonte while Triptych scored in 1987. Meanwhile, See The Fire will try and match her dam, Arabian Queen, who was the last female horse to win the Juddmonte International back in 2015. The fairer sex don't land this prize often, although others to have done so include One So Wonderful in 1998 and In the Groove in 1990. Ryan Moore will be on top of Delacroix, who flopped in the Derby but was a spectacular winner of the Eclipse and whatever connections say (some have suggested he might be best at a mile) I think he stays this trip really well. He's the one for me. LAMBOURN goes in the St Leger trial, the Group 2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur, although the Arc de Triomphe might be more his ultimate target. I'm not opposing the short-priced favourite. O'Brien's colt has done little wrong this season, following up his Epsom success with victory, albeit far from impressive, in the Irish equivalent. On ratings he has achieved miles more than most of these, and while some of course are open to improvement he should take all the beating again under Moore. ITALY goes in the Group 3 Tattersalls Acomb for colts and geldings. O'Brien surely knows where he is with big rival Distance Storm having sent out the horse who got closest to the unbeaten Godolphin runner at Newmarket 40 days ago. A son of Wootton Bassett, Italy looked very good on debut but ultimately was beaten by Godolphin's Saba Desert in the Group 2 Superlative. That, of course, means Charlie Appleby has a strong guide too! I'm sticking with Italy mainly because he has that bit more experience and I was left thinking he wasn't quite at his best in the Superlative. More Moore. ITV Racing start at York with a handicap over an extended 5f. TREFOR ran an absolute cracker at Windsor the other day suggesting he's bang in form for Charlie Hills. My selection can run off 1lb lower here and his traveling pace should stand him in good stead on this track. He's only run here once before and didn't do well, but on that occasion he hung badly left and just wasn't himself even though the vet found no issues. Kieran Shoemark takes the ride. Finally on telly there is a handicap over an extended 2m. A huge chance this for ALPHONSE LE GRANDE to outstay his rivals for Tony Martin and William Buick. The Cesarewitch winner has not been disgraced in 2025, running twice with a pipe opener at the Curragh follow by an eighth in the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting. This is not a strong renewal in my book and he has a great chance to score if there is any sort of pace at all. Good luck! Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here. . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who:
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Aidan O'Brien pulls ‘amazing' horse from £1.2million Juddmonte after odds collapse in ‘surprising and rapid' market move
AIDAN O'BRIEN has pulled 'amazing' filly Whirl from the £1.25million Juddmonte International - after her odds collapsed in a head-scratching market move. The Ballydoyle boss' long-time ante-post fav Delacroix was a worrying drifter in the markets on Sunday afternoon. 1 He went all the way out to 6-1 - and 13-1 on the Betfair Exchange - having been 7-4 as his stablemate was hammered into 4-1 from 16s. The writing looked on the wall for the Coral-Eclipse winner as punters gave up hope of a rematch with John & Thady Gosden's Ombudsman. But just as it looked like the field was set, O'Brien declared Delacroix and left Whirl out of the York Ebor festival feature. The massive upheavel in the markets meant some cashed out bets on Delacroix believing he would be a non-runner. While those who followed the gamble on Whirl were left with 'burned fingers' after she wasn't declared. Coral couldn't split the two leaders, having Delacroix and Ombudsman both 15-8. The firm's David Stevens said: "Ombudsman had claimed outright favouritism for the race over the weekend, but with his Coral-Eclipse conqueror, Delacroix, the only Ballydoyle challenger declared for the race, the younger colt has rejoined his older rival at the head of the market." More to follow. Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who:
