{
  "id": 1753889,
  "title": "Ombudsman and River to serve up another Juddmonte thriller",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/ombudsman-and-river-to-serve-up-another-juddmonte-thriller",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-18T16:57:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/ombudsman-and-river-to-serve-up-another-juddmonte-thriller/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Juddmonte International Stakes at York, a Group One race, is renowned for being one of the top-rated races globally. In 2024, City Of Troy delivered an outstanding performance, defeating Calandagan, an elite older horse. However, in last year's race for three-year-olds, Delacroix was unable to replicate his success and encountered OMBUDSMAN. The Gosden brothers' five-year-old, OMBUDSMAN, is returning to defend his title and aims to become the first horse since Halling in 1996 to retain this prestigious Group One prize. OMBUDSMAN previously won the Group One Dubai Turf in March and began the UK season with a narrow victory at Sandown. He then triumphed in the Group One Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, becoming the joint top-rated horse in the world with Longines. Despite the possibility of rain, Constitution River, who receives a substantial seven-pound weight allowance and has performed well in three starts this season, is considered a strong contender. OMBUDSMAN, although not the most thrilling choice, is the most probable winner and is recommended by the author for the World Pool Win market. In the subsequent Stayers Handicap at 4.10pm, SMALL FRY, under the Joseph O’Brien team, is favored to win. SMALL FRY nearly won at Goodwood in the previous race but was hindered near the end of the race, ultimately finishing less than a length behind the winner. This race appears to be a favorable opportunity for SMALL FRY to make up for connections, so it is also recommended as a Win selection with World Pool.",
  "summary": "YORK’s Group One Juddmonte International Stakes (3.35pm) regularly features among the top-rated races in the world and for good reason. In 2024, it saw a superb performance from City Of Troy to down one of the best older horses around in Calandagan, and while Delacroix attempted to repeat the feat for the three-year-olds last year [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}