Gosden expects Ombudsman to improve for Sandown run
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Wed 27 May 2026
John Gosden believes Ombudsman will improve for his reappearance in the Star Sports Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown – but suggested he might have to if he is to beat “exceptional” Arc winner Daryz at Royal Ascot.
The Godolphin-owned five-year-old finished second in the Group Three contest 12 months ago before landing the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at the royal meeting.
Ombudsman warms up for the defence of his title in Esher on Thursday and his joint-trainer believes the triple Group One winner could have his work cut out in mid-June as he prepares to take on a French star who looks right out of the top drawer.
“He’s in good order. As usual with me, the race is going to bring him on to where you want him for Ascot,” said Gosden, who trains alongside his son Thady.
“None of us have failed to be impressed by the Arc winner, who was exceptionally impressive in the Prix Aga Khan IV the other day and in the Ganay before that.
“To that extent, it (Prince of Wales’s Stakes) looks nearly the race of the meeting (at Royal Ascot).”
As well as the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Ombudsman also won the Juddmonte International at York and was second in the Eclipse and the Champion Stakes last season. He made a successful start to his five-year-old campaign when landing the Group One Dubai Turf at Meydan in late March.
Gosden admitted he has eased off the son of Night Of Thunder since his win in the UAE but reported him in decent shape ahead of the summer season.
He added: “I think when you train him in the winter, you’ve got to hit the pause button when you get home, because it’s quite tough training them through January, February, to run in March, and then you’ve got the whole summer season coming, so we deliberately backed away afterwards.
“But he seems happy and well in himself.”
Ombudsman is odds-on to land Thursday’s Sandown feature and his closest rival in the betting is Gethin, bought by Wathnan Racing after a comfortable win in the Listed Magnolia Stakes at Kempton in early April.
Trainer Owen Burrows has always believed the four-year-old belongs in top company and feels now could be a good time to strike with the exciting grey before the Gosden runner is fully tuned up.
Burrows said: “I am hoping this horse should be in these sorts of races and if Ombudsman is not fully wound up – and he’s got a 7lb penalty – so if we can’t get close to him now we are probably a bit off getting close to him when he is on-song and with no penalty!
“You can’t run away from one obviously and I would rather he wasn’t there but if our horse is as good as we hope he is, he is going to be running in these decent races where he has to take on the best, so we may as well get on and see where we sit.
“He always excited me at home even as a three-year-old and while it has been all very routine work until now – we are just on the all-weather so nothing out of the normal – he does his work fine and we are happy where he is.
“It will be good to get him back out again.”
Godolphin will be represented by two further runners in the royal blue silks, with Charlie Appleby saddling both Arabian Light and Bedouin Prince.
“Arabian Light and Bedouin Prince are prepping for Royal Ascot, and it’s obviously a tall order taking on Ombudsman,” the Moulton Paddocks handler told www.godolphin.com.
“Both are coming back from a break and there will be improvement to come as we are building towards races like the Wolferton Stakes and Duke of Edinburgh Handicap.”
Andrew Balding’s Almeric attempts to improve on third place behind Saddaad in the Gordon Richards Stakes over the course and distance in April, while James Owen’s Wimbledon Hawkeye makes up a six-strong field.
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