Brough Scott
The Times
20th August 2026
Give the winner his due. The three year old Item won the £1.5 million Juddmonte International, York’s richest ever race, with last year’s winner Ombudsman, currently the world’s top-rated horse at this 10 furlong distance, four and three quarter lengths away in fourth. Except for a bogged down 9th in the Derby, Item has won all six races of a career which now sees him as a contender for best of his generation.
It was a success in doubt from way even before the start. Trouble with one of his feet meant that it was not until 5 am after much work from his farrier vet and other staff that Andrew Balding could despatch the home bred Juddmonte colt on the 220 mile north to York. In the race things were not much easier.
Although these things are never admitted it seems clear that Aidan o’Brien’s Ballydoyle team had decided to send the talented Hawk Mountain rather than the expected pacemaker Action up ahead with Constitution River in attendance to try and run the world rated sting out of Ombudsman’s finishing kick. The plan didn’t work because Constitution River got lit up and ran his fastest as he tested Ryan Moore’s arms in the first furlong but the breakdown also caused trouble for Item.
“I was never really comfortable, , until William Buick (on Ombusman) came to me and got in between two horses,” said jockey Colin Keane. “That got him going and then the gap closed in front of him, and he was very gutsy to get back up.”
Up front Constitution River had worked hard to get past stablemate Hawk Mountain but then found himself in a protracted losing duel with the five year old Almaqam who relished the rain softened ground as much as Ombudsman’s connections complained about it. 100 yards out it looked for all the world as if Almaqam’s jockey Kieran Shoemark would land his biggest ever prize but the clock showed that for all the efforts which earned him an 8 day suspension for one over the official whip rule, Almaqam’s was even more out of energy than the winner.
For while Item took 12.45 seconds and a slower 12.79 for the final two furlongs, Almaqam’s leading 12.29 ended with a leaden-hoofed 13.14. They were all weary but Item least so and his connections are rightly going to take a triumphant breath before deciding where to send their home bred chestnut son of Frankel next.
As to Ombudsman, trainer John Gosden was quick to blame the ground for not allowing him to be the mighty hero we have seen this year at Meydan and Ascot but the fact that his 2m 7.90 winning time last year was hardly a sedond slower than yesterday’s victorious clocking of 2m.8.44 suggest it was more than that. From stall one and with a frantic pace up fron William Buick understandably elected to stay on the inside but turning into the straight had to work very hard to ensure his passage as Colin Keane on Item gave him little room. Quite soon we will have in-race heart monitors, I guess one on Ombudsman would show that he used up an excess amount of juice in the early part of the straight.
None of that should take away from Ombudsman’s overall excellence nor lessen the excitement in having not just Item as an English trained contender for the best three year old in Europe but Maltese Cross who half an hour earlier had comprehensively outgunned the O’Brien pair Pierre Bonnard and Christmas Day in the Great Voltigeur Stakes.
Racing may have many clouds but with today’s winners the future looks bright. Item has every option, Maltese Cross is hot favourite for the St Leger but his enthusiastic film producer owner George Waud is clearly keen on the Arc de Triomphe. “I do love to go to Paris”, he said. Don’t we all?
Maltese Cross is now a hot favourite for the St Leger but his enthusiastic owner David Waud clearly fancies a crack at the Arc de Triomphe as he smiled and said “I do love Paris.” So did the late Prince Khalid Abdullah whose husbandry of his Juddmonte breeding empire is giving such posthumous dividends with Item and today’s star filly Kalpana. Item runs as if a mile and a half would be a perfect fit. Racing may have many clouds but for today’s winners the future looks bright.