Big two on target for Knavesmire showdown

Ombudsman and Constitution River share top billing in a quality field of nine runners declared for the Juddmonte International at York on Wednesday.

John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman was a brilliant winner of the Knavesmire showpiece 12 months ago and is a hot favourite to successfully defend his title off the back of a runaway success in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Constitution River meanwhile has established himself as Aidan O’Brien’s star three-year-old with victories in the French Derby and the Coral-Eclipse and now faces his acid test in a highly anticipated clash of the generations.

“We’re obviously really looking forward to it, he’s done nothing wrong in his whole career,” Constitution River’s rider Ryan Moore told World Pool.

“He was a good winner at Chester (Dee Stakes), he won the French Derby and he was a good winner of the Eclipse. We think York will suit him, obviously the trip is perfect and hopefully it will be nice ground, which is ideal for him.

“He’ll be taking on last year’s winner Ombudsman, who was very impressive in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and has also been trained with this race in mind.

“It looks a really good race between the two of them and there’s others in there like Almaqam and Item, but I’m really looking forward to Constitution River, we think everything is fine for him at York and it will be great to see how he measures up.”

Ombudsman is joined by his stablemate and pacemaker Devil’s Advocate, while Constitution River is one of three runners for Ballydoyle alongside Action and Hawk Mountain, with the latter having finished placed behind his esteemed stable companion on his last two starts.

Item has already won the Dante and the York Stakes at the track this season and is no forlorn hope for Andrew Balding, while Ed Walker will have been pleased to see the rain fall at York over the weekend to boost the chances of his stable star Almaqam.

Ralph Beckett’s Pride Of Arras and Francis-Henri Graffard’s French raider Zaydann complete the line-up.

The Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes throws up an intriguing rematch between the Derby one-two Christmas Day and Maltese Cross.

O’Brien’s Christmas Day was a decisive winner of the premier Classic in soft ground at Epsom in early June, since when he has finished second to stablemate Benvenuto Cellini in the Irish Derby.

The William Haggas-trained Maltese Cross meanwhile has subsequently travelled across the Channel to land the Group One Grand Prix de Paris.

O’Brien also runs Pierre Bonnard and rank outsider Antigua, while Superior Choice steps up in class for the Gosdens having won his last three starts.

Galiyan from the Balding yard rounds off the field of six.

Eleven juveniles have been declared for the Group Three Tattersalls Acomb Stakes, with O’Brien’s Vintage runner-up Haffner and Walker’s impressive Ascot scorer Alfred Wallace two of the leading players.