Ombudsman v Constitution River is imminent! What have connections said ahead of Juddmonte International epic?

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If you think talk of this year's Juddmonte International being the race of the season might be a shade overblown, consider the fact that the cornerstone of the Ebor meeting has been rated the best race run anywhere in the world twice in the last six years, ahead of Breeders' Cup Classics, Arcs and Japan Cups.

Reputationally it has gone from strength to strength, and so it is little wonder that York in the third week of August is the place where Ombudsman and Constitution River have been brought together, with a £1.5 million prize fund and a late-summer slot both additional incentives for Godolphin and Coolmore to send their very best.

Two years ago, City Of Troy's defeat of Calandagan earned the International top honours as the highest-rated Group 1 run anywhere on the planet, while four years earlier Ghaiyyath left Magical, Lord North and Kameko in his wake in a signature performance which also earned him the title of World Champion.

In addition to receiving the Longines-sponsored accolade in 2020 and 2024, the International has been the third and fourth highest-rated race in the time since the award was first handed out in 2015.

It takes four to tango in the case of calculating the global pecking order, with an average across the end-of-season ratings for the 1-2-3-4 used to determine the rankings.

And the good news for a York executive which aims to finish in the top echelon of the world's best races on a regular basis, there is no huge dropoff in quality behind the big two.

Away from Constitution River and Ombudsman, perhaps the horse with the most compelling profile is Item, a winner of both the Dante and the York Stakes over this course-and-distance.

Among the three-year-olds, Item is only 2lb shy of Constitution River on official ratings, having earned a mark of 122 for his defeat of some solid yardsticks among the older brigade last month, including the reopposing Pride Of Arras.

That compares with Constitution River's 124 in a Coral-Eclipse which arguably lacked a standout older horse to help boost his mark.

As Item's trainer Andrew Balding points out, if he had missed the Derby on soft ground for some reason, we would be talking about an unbeaten Juddmonte homebred son of Frankel.

"He’s a horse we’ve always had huge belief in," said Balding. "Bar Epsom, Derby day, on which the ground wasn't to his liking, he’s got a flawless record.

"He’s won his other four starts and was quite impressive last time at York, given that the race probably wasn’t run ideally to suit him.

"But we’re there with the best older horse in Europe and probably the best three-year-old in Europe. It’s no easy task."

After only five career starts - Ombudsman has taken 12 races to get to his lofty rating of 132, while even his contemporary Constitution River has been to the races six times - Item might still be on his way up.

Pride Of Arras lands the Dante Stakes at York

Pride Of Arras and Rossa Ryan winning the Dante at York last seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Pride Of Arras has winning form on the Knavesmire, while the lightly raced five-year-old Almaqam now has that long-awaited Group 1 win safely stowed away after his victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup in May.

And Zaydann is an intriguing French contender from the Francis Graffard/Aga Khan Studs combination which will be aiming for a third Group 1 in the space of 11 days.

A race with a high-class history and a rich recent vein of form has all the ingredients to produce something out of the very top drawer and, potentially, once again put York close to the top of the international racing mountain.

What they say

Ed Walker, trainer of Almaqam
We've been on weather watch with him, waiting for decent ground. They've had rain so it's game on. It's a wonderful race to be involved in and he's in flying form. I'm sure he'll be competitive. He was definitely below par when finishing fourth behind Ombudsman in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. The ground was quick and he'd also put in a massive shift when winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on his first run of the season, barely three weeks previously, and I just wonder whether he was still just a bit flat. He's been freshened up since then and is really well now. If he can repeat his Curragh form, he'll be there or thereabouts.