Item pulls off a massive upset at York, ruining the party for Constitution River and Ombudsman

The colt trained by Andrew Balding, off at 10-1, closed with immense power to capture the Juddmonte International (G1), nipping Almaqam right on the wire. The two heavily favored contenders were left out of the picture at the finish

The highly anticipated duel between Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) and Ombudsman (Night of Thunder) never quite materialized. While all eyes were fixed on the two major stars, Item appeared from the outside with a tremendous late surge to win the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) this Wednesday, delivering one of the biggest upsets of the Ebor Festival at York.

Sent off at 10-1 and ridden by Colin Keane, the pupil trained by Andrew Balding caught Almaqam (Lope de Vega), representing Ed Walker, practically on the wire. This crowned a progression he had been hinting at for several months and secured, by far, the most important victory of his campaign.

The race flow had its quirks from early on. Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett), one of the representatives for Aidan O’Brien, unexpectedly took the lead, while Constitution River traveled immediately behind him, racing quite keenly under the reins of Ryan Moore.

At the other end of the field was Ombudsman, the defending champion and prohibitive favorite, whom William Buicksettled in last, accompanied by Action (Frankel), another member of the powerful Ballydoyle squad.

Hawk Mountain maintained the lead until entering the endless home straight at Knavesmire. There, the significant moves began. Buick attempted to gain ground hugging the rail with Ombudsman, while Moore decided to wait no longer and launched Constitution River with just over 400 meters still to run.

For a moment, it seemed that the head-to-head clash everyone expected would finally arrive. But it was not to be.

While Ombudsman continued to make progress along the inside and Constitution River tried to sustain his run, the real threats emerged on the outside.

First came Almaqam, who surged past powerfully and managed to take the lead with barely 100 meters remaining. He seemed to have the race in his pocket, until Item appeared in full flight, closing the gap with giant strides.

Keane urged him for every last centimeter and the colt responded: he put his head in front right on the wire and pulled off the upset, leaving Almaqam empty-handed just as he was tasting glory.

Constitution River, winner this season of the Prix du Jockey Club (G1) and the Coral-Eclipse (G1), had to settle for third place, while Ombudsman, victor of this very race 12 months ago and the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, finished fourth.

For Balding, the victory also held a very special flavor, as he achieved something his fondly remembered father, Ian Balding, trainer of the unforgettable Mill Reef (Never Bend), had never managed to do.

"It is always one of the most important races of the year, so it's fantastic to be able to win it with a horse like this," commented the trainer, acknowledging that the physical development of Item was fundamental: "We put him in major races because we believed he could perform well, but he just kept improving. Physically, he is truly a very different horse from the one that ran in the Dante."

Indeed, Item had begun to show his caliber by winning the Dante Stakes (G2) over this same track. He then suffered his only significant stumble in the Epsom Derby (G1), over a longer distance and under demanding conditions, before recovering his best form and arriving at this engagement ready to make the definitive leap.

Although, as Balding revealed, he came very close to not even traveling to York.

"I want to give a massive thanks to the team at home because it wasn't easy to get him here. Everything had gone very well until close to declaration time, when we had a small issue with his hooves. Everyone worked overtime to sort it out, and it wasn't until 5 in the morning that we decided he should get on the horsebox to come. I am very relieved," he explained.

Regarding the future, Balding didn't want to rush. He even made it clear that the versatility of Item opens up a significant range of possibilities, as he believes he could stretch out to 2,400 meters without any issues.

"I think anything is possible. He would have no problem getting a mile and a half if we wanted to. Now we'll have to sit down and let this all sink in a bit. We've just won the Juddmonte International; that was the plan," he concluded.

The Juddmonte International promised a clash of titans between Ombudsman and Constitution River. Item took it upon himself to write a different script. And he did so by flying down the outside, just in time, to secure a victory that firmly establishes him among the best horses in Europe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prQtRHXvCwY