JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL STAKES
Wednesday 23rd August, 3:35pm
Paddington @ 4/7
Mostahdaf @ 9/4
Nashwa @ 17/2
The Foxes @ 16/1
view odds
*prices correct at time of writing.
So just a small field for the £1,000,000 Juddmonte International and of course it would have been great had the 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown and others made the line-up, but while the lowest turnout since 2009 – when Sea The Stars still won a thriller if you recall – is not ideal for betting purposes, we still have some outstanding contenders for a race regularly rated amongst the best in the world, with no one there just to make up the numbers.
Even if the outsider The Foxes was successful, you are still talking about a Dante winner who has run with credit in the Derby and even more so in the Belmont Derby in the US.
Still, there are a Big Two, representing two outstanding operations. The ever-productive Coolmore and the increasingly prolific Shadwell (the 2022 winner with Baaeed), with, respectively, the three-year-old Paddington and the two-years-older Mostahdaf who supply an intriguing clash of the generations alongside the filly Nashwa, aged four and trained like Mostahdaf by John and Thady Gosden.
Paddington has galloped his way towards legendary status during a Group One spree of distance and going versatility that has taken in the Irish Guineas, the St James’ Palace Stakes, the Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes, yet I still detect an element of snobbery because he started the year by winning a premier handicap on the opening weekend of the Irish season.
However, having taken his time as a juvenile, the colt has done nothing but bloom this year and will probably confirm his position as the leading member of the Classic generation.
Mostahdaf, on whom Frankie Dettori replaces the suspended Jim Crowley, must concede weight-for-age but with a mark of 128 he is the highest rated horse in the race and equal second, with Hukum, in the same ownership, right across the world.
This horse was pretty extraordinary in the Prince of Wales’ Stakes at Royal Ascot behaving in the paddock like he was thinking more about the mares he would be meeting for stallion duties in the future than matters in hand before absolutely bolting up by four lengths and more against top-notch rivals – though there had to be doubts about just how well some of the opposition performed on the day.
Nashwa never got in a decisive blow in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, but previously bounced back to form over a mile in the Falmouth.
It should be a great one to watch with Ryan Moore (Paddington), Hollie Doyle (Nashwa) and Oisin Murphy (The Foxes) joining Dettori and ensuring a battle of Group One riders.
Elsewhere, in the Great Voltigeur Stakes, the soon-to-retire Italian’s mount, the unbeaten Queen’s Vase winner Gregory, the St Leger favourite, is all the rage but it will not be entirely straightforward.
Castle Way did well to see off Tower Of London in the Bahrain Trophy, while Continuous has given the distinct impression that there is a major race in him at some point, while Canberra Legend and Artistic Star bring to the table the Goodwood form of the expected Royal runner in the St Leger, Desert Hero, with Canberra Legend representing the same stable which took this prize last year.
Assuming conditions remain on the dry side, Equilateral will get a big chance to show off his quality in the first race of the meeting and the same applies to Pillow Talk (4-45), while Ballymount Boy’s Goodwood form got a notable boost at the weekend and he could offer a good early opportunity for Highfield Princess’ rider Jason Hart in the Acomb (2-25).
For all your bets on the racing, visit our dedicated horse racing betting page.
