Paddington stamps his class on the Sussex Stakes

Paddington faces three rivals in Juddmonte International at York

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Mon August 21, 2023 · 2y ago

Paddington faces just three rivals as he bids to extend his remarkable winning sequence in Wednesday's Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt has won seven times in a row since finishing fifth at Ascot on his two-year-old debut last September, registering top-class victories at the Curragh, Ascot, Sandown and Goodwood so far this campaign.

Ryan Moore's mount is stepping back up to the Coral-Eclipse distance having successfully dropped back to a mile to win the Sussex Stakes in desperate conditions earlier this month and he's seemingly up against a 10-furlong specialist in John and Thady Gosden's Mostahdaf.

Mostahdaf was last seen skipping to an impressive victory over Luxembourg in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and will be ridden for the first time in his career by Frankie Dettori, the joint-most successful rider in the race's history with five previous victories (alongside Lester Piggott). Dettori is in for the suspended Jim Crowley on the Shadwell Estate-owned five-year-old.

Mostahdaf's stable companion Nashwa has also been declared for the Sky Bet Ebor Festival's day-one highlight and will be ridden by Hollie Doyle.

The four-year-old filly Nashwa won the Prix de Diane last June and added a second top-level victory to her CV with a five-length verdict in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket's July Festival last month, since when she's finished a length third in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood when reportedly unsuited by the soft ground.

Completing the four-runner field is the Andrew Balding-trained three-year-old The Foxes, winner of the Dante Stakes over this course and distance in May before finishing fifth in the Derby and second in the Belmont Derby in America on his most recent outing on July 8. He is the mount of Oisin Murphy.

Sir Michael Stoute did not declare Bay Bridge, leaving him without a runner after last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown sustained a season-ending injury on Sunday.

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