Gosden Hails Ombudsman’s ‘Overdrive’ As Juddmonte International Tactics Threaten To Implode

[Wandering Eyes]

For a long while in Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International Stakes, it looked as if we would have another pacemaker summer shock but ultimately the class of Godolphin's Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) told once again and common sense prevailed on the Knavesmire. Blessed with the best acceleration of the sextet, the Gosdens' 7-4 favourite was the first to claw back the operation's rabbit Birr Castle (Cloth Of Stars), who was proverbially in another district under Rab Havlin turning for home, and register a 3 1/2-length defeat of his Eclipse conqueror Delacroix (Dubawi). He was the only other runner able to get by the Andre Fabre-trained pacemaker, with half a length the margin between them at the line.

“The idea was to run the pacemaker and the way he was going to be used would be determined by the way the race went,” William Buick said. “To be honest, Rab [Havlin] got the fractions spot-on on a proper Stakes horse, so I was thinking 'this is dangerous' and I had to cut the deficit myself. He then went again, which is a hard thing to do, but he has a great mind and is amazing. He's a beautiful horse to ride and we couldn't believe he got beaten in the Eclipse, but today he put it right.”

John Gosden added, “Andre [Fabre] had said, if I lend you the horse make sure its like Goodwood! I thought it was dangerous two out, but all's well that end's well and our horse went into overdrive. This settles the Eclipse form and the obvious race is the Irish Champion–he is in the Arc, but I won't want to run on heavy ground as it would blunt his turn of foot. He's got tactical speed and the mile-and-a-half at Del Mar could work.”

“It was a mess really,” Aidan O'Brien said of the runner-up. “When he sat in they started going slower and slower and he was in a pocket and the rest was history. We think he likes high-tempo races and hopefully this won't happen at Leopardstown.”

Ombudsman strikes in a remarkable £1.3m Juddmonte International! @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/7Sr7ELnnQs

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 20, 2025

The post Gosden Hails Ombudsman’s ‘Overdrive’ As Juddmonte International Tactics Threaten To Implode appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article