The 2026 Juddmonte International did indeed end up being a two-horse race, but those two horses where not the two horses who were expected to fight out the finish.
All of the fanfare before the race, which was quite legitimate at the time, centred upon the Ombudsman v Constitution River clash, but the joint world’s best rated racehorse and a three-year-old star could do no better than fill a well beaten third place (Constitution River) and fourth place (Ombudsman) as the Andrew Balding trained Item and the Ed Walker trained Almaqam fought out a punishing stride for stride battle over the concluding stages, with Item’s strong late push earning him a last gasp win.
💫 A PERFECT season at York 💫
𝐈𝐭𝐞𝐦, in the colours of the sponsors, gets up late to land a thrilling edition of the £1.5 million @JuddmonteFarms International and make it three wins on the Knavesmire this season!@yorkracecourse | @ctkjockey pic.twitter.com/Wo6lmrmtlg
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 19, 2026
You can make excuses for both of the beaten main fancies, but the fact is both Ombudsman and Constitution River had every chance of claiming the win but came up short when it mattered most. Those comparing the best horse racing betting apps saw a major upset as the two headline runners were both beaten.
Ombudsman had a torrid run from the number one barrier draw, racing last early while being constantly caught in a traffic jam in the first half of the race.
He was still held tight for galloping room in the first half of the straight … then a clear path to the line opened up in front of him, but what had happened earlier in the running might possibly have taken the edge off his enthusiasm because there was just a flicker of his renowned acceleration before that light went out and he plodded into fourth place, his trainer John Gosden pointing to the unexpected soft going, after rail had fallen earlier, as a factor as to why Ombudsman didn’t perform to his true ability.
The Aidan O’Brien trained Constitution River was arguably a bit fired up early as he tracked his stable-companion, pacemaker Hawk Mountain, with Constitution River leading the pack chasing the leader.
When Hawk Mountain cried enough halfway up the straight, Constitution River was left in front of a packing field, with Ryan Moore doing all he could to help Constitution River maintain his advantage.
Constitution did fight on initially, but when Almaqam ranged alongside and then when past Constitution River, the O’Brien trained runner did not have the strength to be able to stay in the contest. The soft ground was also touted as a possible factor in Constitution River’s disappointing performance.
While most racegoers couldn’t believe the boilover they were watching with the challenge of two favourite’s both being brought undone, all credit must go to Almaqam, who did everything but win after looking every bit the winner when closing in on line, and Item, the race winner, who lost ground when switching across heels at a vital stage of the running, yet was able to rally late and finish off a winning performance in breathtaking style.
