Tomorrow sees the latest multi-day race meeting roll off the 2024 conveyor belt as York Racecourse hosts its flagship four-day Ebor meeting. The titular handicap contest is invariably the biggest betting heat of the week, but the Knavesmire also enjoys a healthy dose of Group class entertainment over the four days.
Thursday’s Yorkshire Oaks sees the best of the fillies and mares lock horns over a mile and a half, whilst the speedballs take centre stage on Friday afternoon in the fast and furious Nunthorpe Stakes. Each of those Group 1 contests looks well up to scratch, but the Juddmonte International on the opening day regularly proves to be the pick of the bunch.
Top of the 1m2f Pile
First run in 1972 and offering a massive £1.25m in total prize money, the Juddmonte International is not only one of Britain’s leading 1m2f events but is among the classiest races held anywhere in the world. Open to colts, geldings, fillies and mares aged three and above, here, we get to see who really is the best of the best.
A glance through the list of recent winners illustrates the quality of the event, with Giant’s Causeway, Sakhee, Sea The Stars, Frankel, Australia, and Baeed all featuring on the roll of honour. Who will join them in 2024?
Cosmopolitan Cast Assembles
Given the riches and prestige on offer, the Juddmonte International regularly lives up to its title in attracting Group 1 stars from far and wide. 2024 is no exception, with runners from the UK, Ireland, France, and Japan contained within the current list of entries.
UK: Burrows Back for More York Success
Lambourn-based Owen Burrows has his string in a rich vein of form ahead of the Ebor meeting, with four of his previous six runners coming home in front at the time of writing – including a pair of Group 3 victories at Goodwood and Ascot. Alflaila is the horse tasked with continuing that hot streak in Group 1 company, and his course and distance record augurs well. Having successfully defended his Sky Bet York Stakes crown over track and trip last time out, he leads the charge for the home team.
Elsewhere among the British runners, James Fanshawe’s Ambiente Friendly bids to land a first career Group 1 at the third time of asking. Impressive in the Listed Lingfield Trial, he finished second in the big one at Epsom before filling third in the Irish Derby at The Curragh. A smooth traveller with a burst of acceleration, this drop in trip may be in his favour.
Ireland: Aidan Holds the Ace in the Pack
With six previous Juddmonte International wins, Aidan O’Brien needs only one more to move out on his own as the most successful trainer in the history of the race. O’Brien holds seven entries at the seven-day stage – six of whom are priced at a general 33/1 or bigger. However, the seventh is the overwhelming favourite, as City Of Troy takes his next step towards greatness.
Unstoppable in three starts as a juvenile, this son of Justify failed to fire on his seasonal return in the 2000 Guineas but has since put that right with back-to-back Group 1 victories. Flawless in the Epsom Derby, he was more workmanlike in the Coral-Eclipse and will likely need to step up on that latter performance to take this. Nevertheless, the horse labelled as potentially the greatest ever to call Ballydoyle home is the one they all have to beat.
France: Ascot Hero Leads the Way
Francis Graffard hit the headlines this week with the news that he will now be responsible for training all of the Aga Khan-owned runners previously based at the yard of legendary handler Jean-Claude Rouget. That decision marks the end of a hugely successful partnership, but the Aga Khan’s runners are in safe hands with Graffard.
The duo has already combined to winning effect in Britain this season, thanks to the victory of Calandagan in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Arriving at the Royal Meeting on the back of two Group 3 wins at Longchamp, Calandagan looked like a Group 1 winner in waiting when routing the field by an easy six lengths. The betting suggests the son of Gleneagles may be the one to take advantage if City Of Troy fluffs his lines.
Japan: Tomohito Takes Aim with Durezza
Having made waves at the Breeders’ Cup and Dubai World Cup meetings in recent years, Japan is an emerging powerhouse on the global racing scene. That success hasn’t been replicated on quite the same scale in Britain, with Deirdre (2019 Nassau Stakes) and Agnes World (2000 July Cup) the only previous runners from the Land of the Rising Sun to plunder a British Group 1.
They came close in the 2005 Juddmonte International though, when Zenno Rob Roy finished a gallant second to Electrocutionist and will hope to go one better with the four-year-old Durezza. Tomohito Ozeki’s star was out of sorts last time out in the Tenno Sho but is a proven Group 1 performer, having bagged the Japanese St. Leger in 2023, and may bounce back on the big stage.