The Times

21 August 2025

It looked like it was happening again. Three weeks ago favourite Field Of Gold’s 150-1 pacemaker Qirat escaped his pursuers to win the Nassau Stakes. Into the straight in yesterday’s Juddmonte International and Ombudsman’s “domestique” Birr Castle was nearly 100 yards clear and didn’t look like stopping.

This time the greyhound caught the hare, Birr Castle folding in the last quarter mile and Ombudsman producing a hugely impressive burst of speed to cut him down half a furlong out to run home a three length winner from his Sandown conqueror Delacroix with Birr Castle earning a totally unexpected but splendidly enterprising £140k for finishing third in front of the filly See The Fire. The Japanese hope Danon Docile and the hitherto unbeaten French challenger Daryz a disappointing fifth and sixth.

The massive quarter of a million prize and the kudos of what is currently rated as “The World’s Best Horse Race” was duly landed so we should congratulate winning jockey William Buick and pacemaker Rab Havlin even if we aren’t totally convinced things rolled out exactly as intended. First comments are often the most telling. “ I didn’t expect Danon Docile to take back, I thought he wanted to chase the pace,” said Buick from the saddle. It told a lot.

As so often, the fractions were the story. The Race IQ figures show that for the second, third, fourth and fifth furlongs Birr Castle was going either a full second or almost a full second slower than Ombudsman as Buick kept behind Danon Docile at the head of the pack. At Sandown he and Ombudsman had hit the front only to be cut down by Delacroix at the death. He didn’t want to launch the pursuit and land himself a target long before the finish. But letting a decent horse had worked out badly at Goodwood. The crowd were beginning to mutter.

Buick could be forgiven for being surprised by jockey Keita Tosaki as Danon Docile had beaten top French horse Calandagan over a mile and a half in Dubai last time out in March and so even after a long  absence a slow pace over a mile and a quarter would surely not suit. The Japanese star was colty and jig-jogging in the paddock, pulled Tosaki’s arms out on the way to the start, and was under huge restraint at the head of the pursuit.

However credit where it’s due. When Ombudsman was finally loosed he was terrific, posting final three sections of 10.94, 11.22, and 11.99 and hitting a top speed of 41 mph as the fastest horse in the race. Trainer John Gosden called him “a proper horse” and confirmed that the  logical targets would be the Irish Champion Stakes and Ascot for Champions Day with the Arc De Triomphe over a mile and a half only even feasible if there was an unusually dry autumn and fast ground in Paris. “He’s getting better and better,” said Gosden and his only defeat was in a muddling Eclipse” before adding cryptically “I did say to William that if he’d sat four lengths off the pacemaker he’d have won by 10 lengths but there we go.”

Delacroix was rather disappointing only running on late and losing a full three lengths on Ombudsman from the Eclipse form. His Aidan O’Brien stable had equal disappointment a race earlier in the day when English and Irish Derby winner Lambourn could only finish fifth in the Great Voltigeur behind the 12-1 winner Pride Of Arras who was rekindling the brilliance of Dante Stakes victory on this track in May after extremely modest showings at both Epsom and the Curragh.

O’Brien’s four runners in the seven runner Voltigeur field filled the last four places but the world’s most positive (as well as most successful) trainer was as usual anything but downcast in defeat. “All of them ran grand,” he said, adding that Lambourn had the option of the Arc or the Leger in which Stay True (one length fourth yesterday) is likely to his stablemate and current favourite Scandinavia next month.

But the training performance of the day goes to Ralph Beckett for bringing Pride Of Arras back from oblivion albeit by the unkindest cut of all. “He needed gelding,” said Beckett before noting respiratory problems the horse also had to overcome. As a gelding Pride Of Arras is absurdly not eligible for either the St Leger or the Arc but all sorts of international pots beckon. Best of all, for him everyone would love if it happened again and again.