Juddmonte International Stakes

The Juddmonte International Stakes is run on the first day of the Ebor Festival and is a middle-distance race worth £1 million. It attracts some of the finest horses from around the continent due to its prestige and prize-money.

• Length of the race – One mile and two furlongs.
• Where to watch – RTV and ITV.
• When to watch – Wednesday, August 21 at 3.35pm.
• Prize-money – The race is worth £1 million, with £567,100 going to the winner.
• Course – The race is run at York racecourse.Race type – Group 1.
• Weights –Three-year-olds carry 8st 13lb, horses aged four and older carry 9st 6lb. There is a 3lb allowance for fillies and mares.
• Ages – The race is open to horses aged three and older.
• Sponsor – Juddmonte has sponsored the race since 1989.

Key stats

• Won a Group or Listed race earlier in the season, 9 out of the last 10 winners
• Rated within 7lb of RPR top-rated, 9/10 (six were top-rated)
• Adjusted RPR of at least 130, 9/10
• Previous Group 1 winner, 9/10 (exception placed in such company)
• Aged three or four, 8/10

Other factors

• Four winners ran in the Eclipse, in which they finished 1211.
• Six winners ran at Royal Ascot – two in the Prince of Wales’s (53).
• Three of the four three-year-old winners ran in the Derby, finishing 113 (exception was a filly).
• Only five winners had scored over the distance.

Key trials

Expect to see horses coming from the King George at Ascot taking a drop in trip (from one mile four furlongs). The Coral Eclipse and Prince of Wales’s Stakes are both noteworthy Group 1 races run over the same distance, so form in those races should never be disregarded. Group 1 form over a mile is also worth keeping an eye on, so the St James’s Palace Stakes at Ascot and the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood can provide vital clues. 

What happened last year?

Roaring Lion provided us with arguably his best career performance when he stormed clear of seven rivals who boasted 13 Group 1s between them. The fan favourite skipped along nicely throughout before being asked to put the race to bed at the two-furlong marker and obliging in tremendous fashion. Poet’s Word was three and a quarter lengths back in second with the globetrotting Thundering Blue in third.

Where can I get Ebor Festival tickets?

Ebor Festival tickets can be purchased from the York website here.

Juddmonte International Stakes tip

The ante-post favourite is current Longines World’s Best Racehorse Crystal Ocean. The 127-rated five-year-old should justify his market position as he has far more class than the rest of the field. He is a short price but his only defeat this year was by a neck to the mighty Enable. The challenge could come from John Gosden’s three-year-old King Of Comedy, who is crying out for this longer trip after a neck second in the St James’s Palace and will also look to capitalize on the weight allowance. (Joe Tuffin)

• Crystal Ocean
• King Of Comedy
• Japan