Ombudsman all set for Japan Cup swansong on November 29

Having already cemented his status as a Godolphin great, Ombudsman will have the chance to end his stellar career on the global stage when tackling the Japan Cup later this month.

Joint-trainers John and Thady Gosden elected against a Breeders’ Cup run for the son of Night Of Thunder after his victory in the Champion Stakes, but he will now tackle a mile and a half for the first time in Tokyo on November 29 before stallion duties await at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland in 2027.

However, win, lose or draw in the Far East, Godolphin’s managing director Hugh Anderson believes his legacy has already been secured and he will go down as “one of the best” to represent Sheikh Mohammed’s operation on the racetrack.

He told the Press Association: “John is a master trainer and has obviously got his eye very firmly on this prize. It’s very exciting.

“Ombudsman’s career has been a model of his kind and he has been beautifully trained. John really took his time with him both as a two-year-old and a three-year-old and what rewards we reaped as a result.

“There have been a lot of great racehorses in Godolphin’s history but Ombudsman is one of the best because of the quality of the Group Ones he has won.

“There is a pecking order in this sport and there are not many higher ranking than two Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Juddmonte International Stakes and a Champion Stakes, he’s right up there.”

The Verdict team examine Ombudsman's Ascot performance

Ombudsman is likely to face his old foe and defending champion Calandagan in Japan as the five-time Group One winner attempts to become the first British-trained winner since Alkaased 21 years ago and also land a $5million bonus he is eligible for after his recent Ascot strike.

The Clarehaven star proved too much for Francis-Henri Graffard’s globetrotter on Champions Day and although the Sheikh Mohammed-owned Singspiel tasted Japan Cup glory in 1996, he would become the first horse to win the  Group One in the Godolphin silks if repeating the dose in Asia.

It would be a result that would cap what has turned into a fine year for the global operation, who have recently seen Sovereignty provide them with a first Breeders’ Cup Classic in Keeneland on the back of a strong end to the European season that provides plenty of optimism for 2027.

“The Breeders’ Cup Classic really was something and like Ombudsman, Sovereignty is out there in a class of his own,” continued Anderson.

“He has won two of the massive international races that had never been previously won by Godolphin or His Highness – the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. For one horse to do both is seriously impressive and he will be a fabulous stallion.”

He went on: “The year is ending strongly and I have been on record saying it was a little bit flat earlier in the year – and it was always going to be difficult to match the quality of last year, but we have finished well.

“The two-year-olds have been very good this year and I think Charlie Appleby has shown how good a trainer he is to bring along the likes of Talk Of New York to win a Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at the end of the season.

“He is going to be an exciting older horse and while there are the likes of Ombudsman and Notable Speech moving off the roster, he is one to take us onwards next year alongside the likes of Opera Ballo and some very good two-year-olds – I’m very optimistic about 2027.”

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