David Ord

York Wednesday reports: David Ord on a dramatic Juddmonte International

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Thu August 21, 2025 · 4M ago

The pacemaker being 20 lengths clear was just the start of the drama in York's big race on Wednesday. David Ord was there.

Twice in the space of ten minutes the colour drained from John Gosden’s cheeks.

The first time is when the pacemaker Birr Castle, in the second silks of Godolphin, is still 20 lengths clear three out in the Juddmonte International.

Then, midway through debriefing the press on how Ombudsman had finally managed to cut him down, the public address system crackles into life.

He’s a minute and ten seconds into his reflections, watching the race on the big screen, when the siren sounds:

“There is an objection, an objection has been lodged by the clerk of the scales further details will follow in a moment”.

The crowd falls silent.

“That doesn’t sound very good at all. I did say to William (Buick) don’t forget to weigh in and he was holding onto everything,” the trainer ponders.

He had been trying to explain what needed changing from the Eclipse to today. He starts again but around ten seconds later the speakers are fired up again.

“We now have further details on the objection. The objection has been lodged by the clerk of the scales to the rider of horse number five.”

Gosden’s eyes scroll down the racecard and settle on the name Daryz.

“The placings of the first five horses are not affected”.

The trainer is irritated and relieved in equal measure.

“That was over-dramatising something, rather silly that. They should just say the last horse hasn’t weighed in properly or something,” he says.

And ladies and gentleman, there you have just one strand of a strange old renewal of the Juddmonte International.

The sizzling summer Group Ones are following a theme. You’re left scratching your head, vigorously, at some stage of each and every one of them.

Take the King George at Ascot where Ballydoyle lined up Continuous as the pacemaker only to make the running with first string Jan Brueghel. That backfired on them.

The Coral-Eclipse where Aidan O’Brien and the rest of the racing world expected Delacroix go forward. He gets shuffled back to last, trapped in by a stablemate but once seeing clear blue water produces a burst of acceleration that we didn’t know lay underneath the bonnet to cut down Ombudsman.

Exhibition C, now this is a classic of the genre, the Qatar Sussex Stakes. Connections supplement Qirat to make sure there’s a gallop for Gosden’s Field Of Gold to aim at. He does that. And doesn’t come back. He wins at 150/1.

Qirat and Richard Kingscote land the Sussex at 150/1

And now the Juddmonte International. The Gosdens again dip into the loan market to try and shake things up from Sandown. They snare a hare to run fast enough to tow these along for a good chunk of this Juddmonte International. A reliable lower-league performer from France. And my, did he.

“I saw Andre (Fabre, Birr Castle’s trainer) at Deauville in the week and he was in great form. He said, ‘John I would like the same result as at Goodwood’. I said OK Andre I’ll make sure he goes a nice even pace but with two to run I thought Andre’s request was coming true," Gosden says, his eyes fixed firmly on the replay of the race.

“Watch this film here,” Gosden says, pointing to the big screen. “It’s quite extraordinary. You don’t often see that. (Birr Castle well clear inside the final quarter-of-a-mile). I did say to William Buick if he’d sat four lengths off the pacemaker he might have won by ten but there you go.”

And you’re watching it with him and think that can’t have been the plan…so what was?

“The plan was to go a good even pace. The Japanese jockey was with Rab (Havlin) on the pacemaker then the Japanese jockey kept taking back and back so the whole field took back and let Rab slip the field.

“Rab never hit his horse, a few slaps down the shoulder but still, at this stage of the race (pointing to the screen again), passing the two-furlong marker, he has six lengths on them.

“When William let Ombudsman go, he said he absolutely flew. He said I went from second gear to fifth gear like that (click of the fingers), fast. He’s just taken it away from Delacroix who has finished second in the end and obviously the pacemaker is third. He’s collected his supplementary fee.”

So what needed changing from Sandown? (and please bear in mind this answer was interrupted twice by the fleeting drama of the objection).

“The Eclipse was a mess, no one really went forward, but full marks to Delacroix. He got up. But you can’t say they went too fast today. The pacemaker was third. He wasn’t going too fast,” Gosden says in various segments.

Ombudsman wins the Juddmonte International

And what about this series of strange races at the very highest level?

“We all made a mistake in the Sussex, our horse (Field Of Gold) didn’t come out of the race right which was another thing. If the pacemakers are allowed to go and the horse in second keeps taking back, taking back, taking back then the pacemaker only has to be a half-decent horse. You can’t afford to give them that much ground.”

And at last we can talk about Ombudsman who did indeed produce a startling turn of foot to exact revenge on his Sandown conqueror, and returns to the racecourse stables oblivious to the objection drama and the heart-stopping nature of the race for those closest to him for much of the York home straight.

“He’s proven he’s a class horse; he blew them away in the end and he only has two blots on his copybook, Sandown and first-time-out when he didn’t like the soft ground in the Brigadier Gerard," Gosden continues.

“The obvious races now are the English and Irish Champion. He’s in the Arc as well but will need one of those rare fast ground Arcs, but they do happen occasionally. We’ll see, how the horse is when we get back and I’m going to have a fun call with Andre.”

The winning turn of foot might prove to be an abiding memory for some.

“A furlong and a half out I thought he was going to struggle,” Gosden admits. “But next thing he’s gone. That’s what people will take home – that and a trainer with his heart in his mouth.”

So will the sight of the pacemaker racing in splendid isolation with two furlongs of lush York turf between him and his own chapter in the next edition of racing’s strangest tales.

And then there’s the 15 seconds when it seemed like the crown that Ombudsman had snared with his late thrust, might be taken away by a man hidden away in the sanctuary of the weighing room.

That was the story of the 2025 Juddmonte International. And only Ombudsman winning it still makes sense two hours after the race.

York Wednesday reports: David Ord on a dramatic Juddmonte International

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