Ombudsman Resolves Juddmonte International Challenge

Favored Ombudsman (IRE) stamped his authority on the middle-distance division with a commanding performance in the £1.3 million Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) Aug. 20 at York Racecourse, reversing his Coral-Eclipse Stakes (G1) form with Delacroix (IRE). The John and Thady Gosden-trained 4-year-old cruised past pacemaker Birr Castle (FR) to win by an impressive 3 1/2 lengths under William Buick. The win marks a second group 1 triumph for Godolphin's Ombudsman, who announced himself on the world stage with a dominant performance in the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in June, securing his place in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In. The Night of Thunder (IRE) colt delivered a record-extending fourth victory in Wednesday's race for the Gosden stable, following previous wins with Roaring Lion, Mishriff (IRE), and Mostahdaf (IRE). Birr Castle, ridden by Robert Havlin for trainer Andre Fabre, turned heads early in the contest by setting a relentless gallop. Unchallenged by the field, the French longshot built up a significant lead. But Buick remained cool aboard Ombudsman, inching his way closer through the straight before striking decisively in the final two furlongs. Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor's Delacroix closed late to claim second, narrowly getting the better of Birr Castle in the final strides. Japanese challenger Danon Decile (JPN) was well placed for much of the race but failed to replicate his Dubai Sheema Classic (G1T) form and faded disappointingly under Keita Tosaki. The winning time for the 1 5/16 miles was 2:07.90 on a course rated good to firm. "Look, he's a lovely horse, a grand horse, he's picked up well and won it well and won it emphatically," the elder Gosden said of Ombudsman. "The Eclipse was a muddling affair, as we said, and we'll leave it at that. It was a great win, but I thought for a moment that Andre (Fabre) was going to be the lucky man. "We never raced him at (age) 2, and he came along gradually. He's getting better and better, he's trained well, he was undefeated last year, and his only defeat this year was in the Eclipse, so he's a proper horse." Gosden said Ombudsman will likely target the Sept. 13 Irish Champions Stakes (G1) at Leopardstown and the Oct. 18 Champion Stakes (G1) at Ascot Racecourse. With the Juddmonte International also part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, Ombudsman secured an automatic paid berth in the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at 1 1/4 miles on dirt Nov. 1 at Del Mar, in addition to his earlier qualification for the Breeders' Cup Turf. Gewan Takes Acomb Stakes Earlier in the program, Al Rabban Racing's Gewan (GB) was an impressive winner of the Acomb Stakes (G3) over seven furlongs for 2-year-olds, landing an automatic berth into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Gewan maintained his unbeaten record by defeating the Aidan O'Brien-trained Italy (GB) by 1 1/2 lengths under P.J. McDonald in the Acomb. Sent off at odds just over 5-1, the 2-year-old colt jumped prominently from the stalls, taking up a position behind the front-running May Angel (GB). The attractive gray then made steady progress before asserting in the final furlong with Italy close on his heels on the run to the line. The win marks a major milestone in Gewan's burgeoning career, as the Acomb Stakes is renowned for launching the careers of top-class milers—a path Gewan appears set to take next year. Trainer Andrew Balding, who won the race with Chaldean (GB) in 2022, said: "He's a son of Night of Thunder, which is a help, and he's just been a lovely horse to train since he came into the yard—always looked like he was going to be a nice horse and we're thrilled to keep his 100% record going." On being asked whether he was surprised at the result, Balding commented: "Not a huge surprise, I mean, we hoped he'd be very competitive, but obviously when you're taking on the biggest yards in Europe, you don't quite know what you've got, but we're pretty pleased. "I think we'd be thinking (towards the 2026 Two Thousand Guineas) but it's quite a long way away and there's a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then, so certainly his 2-year-old career isn't finished yet." Gewan was aided by Charlie Appleby's Distant Storm (GB), who could only finish third after running very keen throughout, replicating stablemate Ruling Court's performance in the race last year. The winning time was 1:25.57. As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will also provide travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.