Juddmonte International: guide to the six runners and verdict

The Juddmonte International at York on Wednesday has a lot to live up to. Last year’s edition was won in a record time by City Of Troy and was officially recognised as the Longines World's Best Horserace Of The Year, as was the 2020 renewal,  won by Ghaiyyath.

Everything is in place for another sensational renewal, with an international cast featuring runners from England, Ireland, France and Japan. 

The rematch between Eclipse one-two Delacroix and Ombudsman is alone a tantalising prospect.  Then there is crack Japanese challenger Dannon Decile to ponder, not to mention unbeaten French challenger Daryz and classy filly See The Fire, who is two from two at the track.

And after the events of the Sussex Stakes, we had perhaps better pay more attention to Birr Castle, supposedly in as a pacemaker for Ombudsman.

Here's a guide to the nine runners in the mix for York’s richest race, which has a first prize of almost £750,000. 

Trainer: Andre Fabre. Official Rating: 109. Group 1 form: 6. Odds: 100-1. 

Could lightning strike twice? Qirat was supplemented for the Sussex Stakes to act as a pacemaker and hit the jackpot at 150-1. Birr Castle has also been supplemented to help tee things up for Ombudsman and has also been dismissed in the betting. 

Birr Castle is a two-time Listed winner but has essentially been something of an underachiever, with Godolphin now giving him a new role in life after an odds-on reverse in a minor event at Chantilly last time. 

The chances of him upstaging this opposition look remote – I’d imagine it may be termed “doing a Qirat” going forwards – and it’s anyone’s guess as to how he will take to his task, given he’s not been a front-runner in the past. This will also be a rare start away from slower ground for him. 

Rab Havlin has been tasked with getting him to the front and setting fractions that will help Godolphin's No 1 get settled. It's a delicate balancing act. Go too fast and he gets ignored. Go too slow and he becomes a problem, not the solution.

Trainer: Shogo Yasuda. Official Rating: 125. Group 1 form: 1631. Odds: 9-2. 

You underestimate Japan’s big-race middle-distance challengers at your peril, with Danon Decile looking on a different level to Cheval Grand, who finished eighth in the 2019 International when past his prime, and Durezza, who raced wide and was too keen when fifth last year. 

Danon Decile won the Japanese Derby with authority last year and we got a gauge as to the level of that performance via the third, Shin Emperor, who was subsequently beaten a length in the Irish Champion Stakes behind Economics and Auguste Rodin. 

Things have not quite gone to plan for Danon Decile since that Tokyo triumph, but he shone on the international stage when landing the Sheema Classic at Meydan in early April. 

The steady tempo that day made for an unsatisfactory affair, and you could argue that the high-class runner-up, Calandagan, was the most disadvantaged. Durezza, Rebel’s Romance, Giavellotto and Shin Emperor were among the support cast, though, so there was considerable depth to that contest. 

Dropping back to ten furlongs should be no issue for Danon Decile, especially granted a true pace, and he’s going to get the fast ground that he is clearly so effective on. Niggles are his long commute, the fact he has not run for more than four months and that his rider Keita Tosaki, a three-time champion in Japan, will be having his first ride in Britain since failing to make an impact at the Shergar Cup at Ascot in 2017. 

Trainer: John & Thady Gosden. Official Rating: 128. Group 1 form: 12. Odds: 15-8. 

Unraced at two, John Gosden acknowledged they campaigned him “tenderly” last year when he was unbeaten in four starts but kept to relatively shallow waters. 

This year, he has come of age, showing a dazzling turn of foot to win the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot before being touched off by Delacroix in the Coral-Eclipse just 13 days later, when things did not pan out ideally for him in what was a messy renewal. 

His performance at Ascot was out of the ordinary, with the RaceiQ sectionals making for glowing reading. 

He clocked 11.82sec in the final furlong, more than half a second quicker than the next quickest, Anmaat, who was runner-up. The rest, including third-placed See The Fire, were made to look as if they were standing still. 

The Time Index of the race was 9.3, when the meeting average was 7.8. It did not matter his top speed of 39.33mph was the slowest of the bunch; he was just consistently quicker throughout, especially in those last two furlongs, which he completed in 35.77sec. 

Sandown was something of a chapter of accidents for him, from the moment he pinged the gates and was fastest to 20mph. That left William Buick tussling with him in the early stages, with a slowish gallop and wide trip compounding problems. In the first half mile, he occupied various places, when his connections would have no doubt been hoping he could again get settled in a stalking position to utilise his acceleration. 

Ombudsmen’s speed was still evident, and he traded long odds-on, but the door was ajar for Delacroix to pounce on him. 

The Night Of Thunder colt has had 46 days to catch his breath this time and this time has the luxury of a pacemaker. That looks a shrewd bit of forward thinking as, otherwise, another muddling gallop could have been on the cards. 

Trainer: Andrew Balding. Official Rating: 119. Group 1 form: 4233. Odds: 9-1. 

Can it really be ten years since Jeff Smith's homebred, Arabian Queen, upstaged Golden Horn in this contest at 50-1? 

That was a memorable day with David Elsworth, the winning trainer, snubbing the media because he said they had ignored him, and his filly, in the build-up. 

Smith is represented by another homebred this time in See The Fire, but she will not be overlooked given her solid form at the highest level and two previous appearances at York, which have resulted in impressive victories. 

The Sea The Stars filly won the Strensall Stakes in taking fashion 12 months ago and was a runaway winner of the Middleton Stakes at the Dante meeting in May, when streaking clear to win by 12 lengths. She won in a time two seconds swifter than the Dante, which took place about half an hour later. 

Her relish for the demands of York cannot be ignored, but Ombudsman zoomed 4½ lengths ahead of her at Ascot and she’s since again come up short at the highest level when third to Whirl in the Nassau Stakes, albeit the rain-softened ground went against her on that occasion. 

Trainer: Francis Graffard. Official Rating: 112. Group 1 form: --. Odds: 11-1. 

The Aga Khan Studs homebred, another son of Sea The Stars, did not make his debut until early April but, like several of his siblings, has quickly developed into a smart prospect. 

His first two wins at Longchamp were nothing to shout about but he impressed when winning a Listed race by a wide margin back there in early June, and he had something to spare when extending his unbeaten sequence in the Group Two Prix Eugene Adam at Saint-Cloud last time. 

He's raced exclusively over ten furlongs and is an intriguing prospect, but he’s now in at the deep end. 

He had less than a length to spare over Bay City Roller and Sinileo last time, and that pair would be any price you like to land this. The former did little for the form when subsequently well beaten in the Sky Bet York Stakes. 

The official ratings suggest he has got a stone to find but Graffard is not one to tilt at the windmills, and perhaps the trainer of last year's runner-up, Calandagan, knows something that we don’t. The last French-trained winner of the race was Triptych in 1987.

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien. Official Rating: 126. Group 1 form: 291. Odds: 15-8. 

Aidan O’Brien is the winning-most trainer in the race's history, courtesy of Giant's Causeway (2000), Duke of Marmalade (2008), Rip Van Winkle (2010), Declaration Of War (2013), Australia (2014), Japan (2019) and City of Troy (2024). 

Delacroix is his No 1 contender after he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the Eclipse at Sandown, although some questioned his paryicipation on Sunday night, when he was a big drifter in the ante-post betting, being shunted out from 2-1 to to 6-1.

Those who kept the faith and took those chunky odds will be on good terms with themselves.

Delacroix did well to get up in the Eclipse, having got shuffled back to rear and boxed in. Ryan Moore received lots of plaudits for an exceptional ride, although he deflected that, saying the horse got him out of trouble. 

That erased the memory of his abject display in the Derby, when he trailed home ninth after going off  favourite. The trip and the track looked a problem for him. 

Before Epsom, he had shown plenty of speed in his wins over 1m 2f at Leopardstown, and there was some talk of him dropping down to a mile for the Sussex Stakes. It’s doubtful we will see him over 1m 4f again any time soon. 

Supporters of Ombudsman will tell you he was an unlucky loser in the Eclipse, while supporters of Delacroix will say that he would have been unfortunate had he not got up. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Seconds out, get ready for round two between Delacroix and Ombudsman. The former provided a knockout late blow in the Coral-Eclipse, giving his rival no time to get up off the canvas. I fancy Ombudsman can turn the tables, with the turn of foot he showed at Ascot an indelible image. Japanese challenger Danon Decile also has to enter calculations, with the official ratings of the big three - 127, 126 and 125 - pointing to a potential thriller.

1 OMBUDSMAN. 2 DELACROIX. 3 DANON DECILE. 4 SEE THE FIRE. 5 DIRAZ. 6 BIRR CASTLE.