2023 Juddmonte International Stakes Tips

Paddington has been a revelation this season and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the three-year-old added the Juddmonte International Stakes to a string of victories this season. Most recently, we saw the horse claim a win in the Qatar Sussex Stakes when sent off as the 4/9 favourite although it was a fairly narrow victory over one mile on soft ground.

That Goodwood win was preceded by a win at Sandown Park, where Paddington beat three others in the Coral-Eclipse including Emily Upjohn. Possibly the most striking performance of all was at Royal Ascot where we witnessed the horse scooping a four-length triumph over favourite Chaldean in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Mostahdaf runs for trainer John & Thady Gosden and the five-year-old has plenty to recommend him. The stable have wrapped the horse in cotton wool since a victory at Royal Ascot where the runner was sent off at 10/1 before claiming the spoils in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over one mile and two furlongs.

Desert Crown could also be a serious contender and the Sir Michael Stoute-trained runner was last seen running in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes when sent off as the 2/5 favourite. However, there will be concern after the horse was beaten into second by Hukum, with this being the horse’s first race since Royal Ascot in 2022.

2022 Juddmonte International Stakes Tips

Baaeed hasn’t put a hoof wrong and could be about to put his unbeaten record on the line in the Juddmonte International Stakes, with the horse having already recorded commanding wins at Newbury and Ascot.

At the time of writing, the horse is entered in the Goodwood Qatar Sussex Stakes on Wednesday 27 July before this race on Wednesday 17 August, with connections making a decision on the latter depending on how the Goodwood Festival pans out.

Baaeed was sent off as the 1/6 favourite in the Queen Anne Stakes before claiming a victory by nearly two lengths, although this could be a stiffer race for the unbeaten three-year-old, with the runner having previously obliged in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury when triumphing in the one mile encounter.

Mishriff could be the favourite if the above entry is passed up and that explains why the five-year-old is trading at a relatively short price. The horse ran well in the Coral Eclipse Stakes and was sent off at betting odds of 7/1 before being beaten by a neck and there will be plenty of hope that this horse can be at the business end of the race.

Vadeni was the winner of that encounter and could be a spot of value if he lines up here, while Desert Crown arrives as the Cazoo Derby winner, with the horse the 5/2 favourite on that occasion and it could be worth considering this runner here.

Can St Mark’s Basilica Continue Glittering 2021 Season?

St Mark’s Basilica is a three-year-old who has taken the 2021 flat racing season by storm in the UK, with Aidan O’Brien having another peach on his hands and it has been nothing but successful since winning the Darley Dewhurst Stakes on 10 October, with that being a seven furlong victory.

Since then, it has been a vintage 2021, with the horse being sent off at 4/1 before claiming the spoils in the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains, with this being a one-mile victory on very soft ground. A few weeks later, the horse was once again successful on French soil when winning the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club.

Ryan Moore was on board the same horse in the recent Coral Eclipse Stakes, with the charge succeeding at even money in a four-runner race, with the horse trading at around the 6/4 mark to secure the Juddmonte.

Love Another Big Chance in This Race

If O’Brien doesn’t succeed with St Mark’s Basilica, then perhaps he’ll get second prize by securing a Juddmonte International win with Love and the filly enjoyed a narrow margin of victory in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot which was the only time that she’s been seen this season.

Indeed, the horse hasn’t lost a race since 11 October 2019, with the 2020 Oaks winner sure to go close if she’s given the opportunity to run, with the horse having already performed well at the Knavesmire when winning the Darley Yorkshire Oaks.

Gosden Can Score With Lord North, Palace Pier and Mishriff

John Gosden has some lively chances when it comes to the 2021 Juddmonte International and there are three horses that are featuring high on the betting market, with Lord North an experienced five-year-old who recently scored a big success when winning the Dubai Turf which landed an enormous amount of prize money for winning connections.

Palace Pier is another horse with a string of victories to his name and it was a cakewalk for the four-year-old in the 2021 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, with plenty more to come, while the same can be said about Mishriff. The latter was beaten into third place in the Coral Eclipse Stakes but could come back with a big run here.

The Juddmonte International Stakes takes place on Wednesday 21 August, with this looking to be a red-hot renewal of a race which is run over a distance of one mile and two-and-a-half furlongs.

Enable is entered into the race after successive wins this season, claiming a victory in the Coral Eclipse before narrowly winning the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes.

That recent titanic tussle saw Enable narrowly see off Crystal Ocean as the two teams battled it out going down the Ascot straight, with Frankie Dettori riding the 8/15 favourite to a victory although the Ebor Festival race looks to be a tougher assignment.

Bookmaker bet365 go 5/4 about Enable winning this race although it appears likely that she will instead run in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks at the Ebor Festival rather than the Juddmonte International.

It makes sense that Enable runs over a mile-and-a-half, although that is good news for Crystal Ocean who is currently trading at odds of 11/8 with bet365 and could go off shorter by the time that the race arrives.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained horse ran a blinder at Ascot when narrowly losing to Enable, with the horse having triumphed at the Royal Ascot meeting after previous victories at Sandown and Newbury.

The win in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was especially impressive, with the five-year-old finishing strongly despite the soft ground at the royal meeting and it could well be the case that Crystal Ocean meets Magical again.

Magical was the horse that finished second in that Royal Ascot tussle, with the bookmakers currently trading 10/3 that the Aidan O’Brien-trained charge is able to return to winning ways after finishing second in his last two starts.

The four-year-old is the progressive type that will surely be in the winners’ enclosure again soon, with the horse having finished first or second in his previous seven outings.

There are lots of other high-profile entries for this Knavesmire spectacular, with King Of Comedy, Circus Maximus, Anthony Van Dyck and Hermosa among them. Aidan O’Brien and his team also have the option to run Japan and Pink Dogwood, while Lord Glitters was the Queen Anne winner at Royal Ascot and could make a winning return to the track.

It also appears that Elarquam could be primed to run in the Juddmonte after impressing connections last time out, with the horse hoping to finally break his Group 1 duck after a series of near-misses.

This horse is the son of Frankel and the recent win at York was an explosive performance, with a £75,000 entry fee now being paid and this adds a real curveball into the Juddmonte International mix.

Trainer Mark Johnston has no hesitation when it comes to thrusting this hope into the race at fairly short notice, with the Scot expecting Elarquam to make a good account of himself.

He said: "We always knew he had that performance in him. He's won a Group 2 now so it's time to take the step up to Group 1 level and we'll see what happens.

The trainer added: "He hasn't had any injuries this year, which is the main thing. He ended last season with a fractured pelvis.

"He's a very laid-back horse who needs to be kept busy, which he wasn't last season."