Star-studded Juddmonte International field locks in for Wednesday’s showdown

The Juddemonte International field has locked in, with one of York’s showpiece races set to be a thriller. Four Group 1 winners are among the entries and we’re going to be treated to a race of the season candidate.

Thriller on the Knavesmire

There might only be six runners, but this is the sort of field that racing dreams about. Four horses, who share thirteen Group 1 success between them, will line-up at the head of the market.

Front-running juggernaut Ghaiyyath looks set to go off favourite for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin. He landed a third Group 1 success when beating Enable to land the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown back in July. He’s enjoyed a remarkable campaign thus far and will be looking to add the cherry on top in a race steeped in history.

Ireland will be represented by Aidan O’Brien’s Magical, a superstar mare whose achievements perhaps go under the radar. She’s bumped into Enable four times in her career but is still a six-time Group 1 winner. Bullying her way to a pair of them over the Irish Sea in 2020, we could easily witness another coronation on Wednesday.

It’s easy to forget that Lord North landed a Class 2 handicap at Newmarket less than a year ago off a mark of 98. He’s now rated 124, tasting Group 1 success for the first time at Royal Ascot. He ran circles around a smart Prince of Wales’s Stakes field and John Gosden’s progressive titan will be hoping to provide James Doyle with some compensation. Doyle has three times been the beaten favourite in the Juddemonte International, but Lord North arguably gives him his best chance yet.

A classic International?

The classic generation will be represented by 2000 Guineas winner Kameko. Andrew Balding’s star ran a brave race in the Derby and was very unlucky not to be closer to Mohaather in the Sussex Stakes. With bundles of untapped potential under the hood, he could improve exponentially for this step up to ten furlongs.

Aspetar has soared to new heights in 2020 and was a course and distance Group 2 winner when last seen. Needing improvement, he’s not one to entirely dismiss, but Rose Of Kildare has a mountain to climb on paper. A typically gutsy Mark Johnston trained runner, her recent Group 3 form is unlikely to be enough here.