Ombudsman and Constitution River confirmed for huge York clash

Ombudsman and Constitution River remain on course for a titanic clash at York next week, with the top-class duo among 10 confirmations for Wednesday’s Juddmonte International.

John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman was a brilliant winner on the Knavesmire 12 months ago and is favourite to go back-to-back following a successful defence of his Prince of Wales’s Stakes crown at Royal Ascot.

In Constitution River, however, he faces a three-year-old of the highest order, with Aidan O’Brien’s colt travelling to France to claim Classic glory in the Prix du Jockey Club before beating elders for the first time in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Ombudsman will be joined by his stablemate and pacemaker Devil’s Advocate, while Constitution River is one of four entries from Ballydoyle alongside Action, Causeway and Hawk Mountain.

Andrew Balding is represented by Item, who is two from two at the track this year having won the Dante and the York Stakes either side of disappointing in the Derby on soft ground, while French hopes are set to be carried by the prolific Zaydann.

The latter has won his last five starts for Francis-Henri Graffard, who saddled Calandagan to finish second to City Of Troy in the 2024 Juddmonte International but saw his subsequent Arc hero Daryz disappoint last season.

Like that pair Zaydann carries the Aga Khan Studs silks and while the son of Dubawi faces a significant step up, the team’s French racing manager and director Nemone Routh feels it is worth the rolling the dice.

“We were looking at all our various options and he was either going to have to wait until Arc weekend, which we weren’t very keen on because he is a good ground horse, or we were going to have put him on a plane and go to somewhere like America,” she said.

“We just felt why not give him a slightly easier trip, albeit for a much harder race! He’s a four-year-old now and we kind of need to know his level by the end of this year, purely in terms of making decisions with him.

“He’s a very well-bred horse – he’s a close relative of Zarak as he’s by Dubawi and his granddam is Zarkava – and he’s good-looking and has ability, it’s just nothing he has shown so far suggests he can be up there with the top two (Ombudsman and Constitution River), but then he always does what we ask him.

“We’re definitely putting it to him this time, but we’d be very happy if he’s able to run into third place and maybe he’ll surprise us, you never know.”

Ed Walker has left in his stable star Almaqam, but yet again the Lambourn handler is praying for rain.

“We’ve talked about the weather and Almaqam so much. He’s undoubtedly better with just a little bit of ease in the ground,” said the Lambourn handler.

“To be competitive or winning a race like that, I think he is going to have to have everything in his favour and I just can’t see the weather playing ball, but we’ll see.”

Pride Of Arras (Ralph Beckett) is the only other horse still in the mix at the six-day stage.