John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Wednesday.
Pierre Bonnard weighted to come out on top in Voltigeur
Before the main course of the Juddmonte International on the first day of the Ebor Festival at York, the Great Voltigeur Stakes (15:00) serves as a tasty appetiser, featuring as it does not just the Derby winner Christmas Day but also the Epsom runner-up Maltese Cross for William Haggas too. Just under three lengths separated the pair in the Derby where Aidan O’Brien’s colt clearly relished the soft conditions. Both have run since, with Christmas Day finishing second to stablemate Benvenuto Cellini in the Irish Derby, while Maltese Cross emerged best in a tight finish of the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.
Christmas Day will be Aidan O’Brien’s second consecutive Derby winner to contest the Great Voltigeur after Lambourn had finished only fifth when sent off odds on under his Group 1 penalty last year. As well as Christmas Day, Maltese Cross has a Group 1 penalty to carry too, and that could make both of them vulnerable to ‘Hot Trainer’ Aidan O’Brien’s other runner Pierre Bonnard.
He was the winter favourite for the Derby after some strong performances at two but was beaten in his two prep races at Leopardstown before the Derby and could only finish seventh at Epsom, ten lengths behind Christmas Day. However, Pierre Bonnard turned in easily his best of the season at the Curragh last time when under firmer conditions and on a more galloping track he was just a neck behind Christmas Day in third. Now in receipt of 5 lb, that should enable Pierre Bonnard to turn the tables with Wayne Lordan in the saddle again, while Ryan Moore is back aboard Christmas Day for the first time since finishing third on him here in the Dante.
Ombudsman can land second Juddmonte International
Thirty years ago, Halling became just the third horse in the history of the Juddmonte International (15:35) to win the race twice. Halling, who also won two editions of the Eclipse, made into a top-class horse for Saeed bin Suroor and Godolphin. But he had started out as a promising three-year-old in Sheikh Mohammed’s own colours, winning the Cambridgeshire when trained by John Gosden. Gosden had to wait until 2018 to train the first Juddmonte International winner of his own, Roaring Lion, but with son Thady – the pair have the ‘Hot Trainer flag - he now has the chance to win a fifth edition of the race with last year’s winner Ombudsman, he too in the Godolphin colours.
His chief rival is Consititution River who will be the fourth consecutive Eclipse-winning three-year-old that Aidan O’Brien has run in the Juddmonte International. City of Troy was successful two years ago, but Paddington’s winning streak was ended by the Gosdens’ Mostahdaf in 2023 and last year Delacroix proved no match for Ombudsman who avenged his Sandown defeat to his younger rival in clear-cut fashion.
Constitution River is unbeaten in five starts since a short-head defeat at Newmarket on his debut and has further improvement to make but will need to do so as he has 5 lb to find on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings with the top-class Ombudsman who is Timeform’s highest-rated horse in Europe. Ombudsman is also thoroughly reliable, with a record of nine wins and three seconds from his twelve starts, and was better than ever when winning his second Prince of Wales’s Stakes last time in emphatic fashion by four lengths from Minnie Hauk, earning the 'Horse In Focus' flag. Unlike last year when he contested the Eclipse, he has been kept fresh since Royal Ascot and should prove very hard to beat again.
Kirchner a progressive stayer
York’s card also features four typically competitive handicaps, including the Sky Bet Stayers’ Handicap (16:10) over two miles where the majority of the field is covered by just 3 lb on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings. But if there’s one who has scope to be better than his current mark, then it is James Owen’s four-year-old Kirchner who heads those ratings.
He was lightly raced when trained in France by Jean-Claude Rouget and has progressed with each of his four runs this year since joining his excellent Newmarket yard. He is also unexposed over staying trips and showed improved form when stepped up markedly in distance for the Northumberland Plate in June and keeping on to be beaten just over a length into second behind Align The Stars.
Kirchner improved again in the following month’s Brown Jack Handicap at Ascot, again over two miles, where he faced a much smaller field. But at the end of a steadily-run race, he quickened right away from his three rivals in impressive fashion to win with plenty in hand, having a gap of four lengths back to Ghaiyya in second and nearly the same to Fireblade in third, both of whom take him on again here. Kirchner earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag for that performance which would have made him an interesting runner in Saturday’s Ebor. However, he’s not high enough in the weights to get into that race, but with more than £50,000 on offer to the winner, this isn’t a bad alternative, and the booking of Ryan Moore enhances his claims.
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