The Juddmonte International Stakes 23/08/23
Whilst the August meeting in York is called the Ebor Festival, it could be argued that the Juddmonte International is in fact, the feature race of the meeting. A 10-furlong Group 1 contest for 3-year-olds and over, this race, perhaps more so than the Eclipse Stakes, is the ultimate test of the classic generation against their elders. The reducing 3-year-old allowance does tend to level the playing field slightly and the ages of the winners in recent years would suggest that this is a fairer contest than its earlier counterparts. This year’s race will be run at 3:35 on Wednesday and it fits the narrative of the Classic generation against the elders perfectly.
History
The race was created by Major Leslie Petch, a clerk of the course on the Knavesmire in York. He had sadly passed away by the time the first renewal was run in 1972, but the International Stakes did not disappoint as the inaugural running produced a thrilling finish between the Derby winner Roberto and Brigadier Gerard. Roberto triumphed for Vincent O’Brien under jockey Braulio Beaza, who was flown in for his first ride in the UK on the Derby winner. Having started quickly, Roberto made most of the running and held off the late challenge of the great Brigadier Gerard to win by a length, inflicting the only defeat of the horse’s career in the process, with both horses breaking the previous track record in the process. Initially sponsored by Benson & Hedges, the race has been run as the Juddmonte International since 1989, The race has had so many high-profile winners that it would be impossible to go through them all, but Roberto’s win in 1972 was quickly followed by Dahlia (1974, 1975) and Wollow (1976) who were both Classic winners. In 1979 the Derby winner Troy triumphed, whilst in 1985 Commanche Run landed the race to complete a remarkable double having won the St Leger at Doncaster a year earlier.
In more recent years the race has become arguably the premier 10-furlong race in Europe, with the likes of Sea the Stars (2009), Australia (2014), Roaring Lion (2018) and Baaeed (2022) all producing some of the best performances of their careers to win here. However, the most famous winner of the race was Frankel (2012) who stepped up from a mile for the first time to produce a career best on route to the end of his 14-race unbeaten career for Sir Henry Cecil.
Jockeys and Trainers
Like so many of Europe’s leading races, it is the same familiar names that sit on the top of the roster of winners for the International Stakes. Lester Piggott and Frankie Dettori share the record having ridden 5 winners each, Piggott with winners between Dahlia (1974) and Rodrigo de Triano (1992) and Dettori between Halling (1996) and Authorized (2007). The race holds special significance for the Dettori family, as Frankie’s Father, Gianfranco, rode Wollow to win the race in 1976.
The trainer’s record is also shared, with 6 wins apiece for Sir Michael Stoute (1986-2017) and Aiden O’Brien (2000-2019), with all 6 winners for Aiden O’Brien being owned by Coolmore, who hold the leading owners record outright.
Recent Trends
In truth there aren’t too many obvious trends with which to approach the race with any great confidence. In its early years, the 3-year-olds dominated by winning 8 of the first 12-renewals, but that trend has not followed this century. They have won 4 of the last 10, but they could not be considered to be dominating in the same way, especially since the reduction of the weight for age allowance. Only 1 Filly has won the race since 2000 when Arabian Queen produced a 50/1 shock to beat Golden Horn in 2015. She was also the only horse to win the International Stakes in the last 10-years without a previous Group 1 win on her CV. Whilst we have seen that there is no obvious advantage for the younger horses, it is perhaps key that Twice Over (2011) is the only horse aged 6 or over to win this race.
This year’s race looks set to pitch the Classic generation, mainly Paddington, against his elders and it should be a superb contest. Don’t forget to check out our Blog on the day for our teams thoughts on the international Stakes.
