{"id":131482,"date":"2025-09-12T05:03:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T05:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131482\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T05:03:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T05:03:08","slug":"ombudsman-absence-a-lily-livered-move-by-godolphin-that-robs-champion-stakes-of-must-see-race-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131482\/","title":{"rendered":"Ombudsman absence a lily-livered move by Godolphin that robs Champion Stakes of must-see race \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By its own high standards, Saturday\u2019s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is a lacklustre renewal. But it shouldn\u2019t be used as a stick to beat the Irish Champions Festival<\/a> (ICF). The big race turnout underlines how bringing horses to water is one thing and making them drink is another. <\/p>\n

It is the 12th year of Irish flat racing\u2019s showpiece event, with the sports top autumn attractions squeezed into a single \u20ac5 million blowout over two days. Once again, six of the 17 races spread between Leopardstown<\/a> and the Curragh are top-level Group One events, the best of the best. <\/p>\n

It sees the ICF firmly in place as the first of a series of major global racing events that will proceed to Paris in four weeks for the Prix de l\u2019Arc de Triomphe. That is followed shortly after by British Champions Day at Ascot, before the Breeders Cup at Del Mar. <\/p>\n

With the Melbourne Cup and the Japan Cup in November, as well as the Hong Kong Carnival in December, the global flat racing village has never been smaller. Those who relish the best of the best in action have never had it so good. <\/p>\n

But it does mean a surfeit of opportunity for a necessarily limited pool of elite talent. The upshot of that has dominated much of the build-up to this weekend.<\/p>\n

Ombudsman, currently the joint-top rated thoroughbred in the world, not only skips the Champions Festival but the Arc too. Instead, the Godolphin team plan to keep him for British Champions Day, the Breeders Cup and finally a potential trip to Tokyo.<\/p>\n

It has robbed the ICF of a headline clash between Godolphin\u2019s best \u2013 Ombudsman and Coolmore\u2019s top-notcher, Delacroix. They have clashed twice this season and the score sits at 1-1. Leopardstown looked to be an obvious rubber-match for superiority, until it wasn\u2019t. <\/p>\n

The usual terms and conditions apply to comment on such calls. Owners are entitled to do whatever they want with their own property. It\u2019s not like National Hunt racing\u2019s giants don\u2019t slalom around the programme book too when it suits, and without the accompanying commercial stud pressures. <\/p>\n

There was even an entertaining twist as John Gosden\u2019s explanation for the change of plan came with a swipe at his Irish rivals. <\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Gosden’s back-and-forth with Aidan O’Brien is a break from the norm. Photograph: Mike Egerton\/PA Wire <\/p>\n

Gosden is always careful in his use of language, so for him to say that Ombudsman wouldn\u2019t appreciate running against multiple entries from one stable on a track with a short straight was no slip-up. <\/p>\n

Within hours, Aidan O\u2019Brien<\/a> suggested that Gosden \u201cwhinges a little bit\u201d. It was a rare glimpse of the competitor behind the usually bland front. It all made a refreshing change from the anodyne public exchanges between those for whom success and failure can be judged by a short head.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the back-and-forth between Gosden and O\u2019Brien disguised what was ultimately a lily-livered call by Godolphin.<\/p>\n

Ombudsman is a mature four-year-old colt who has run just eight times in his career. Judged by his Juddmonte International victory in York, he is clearly in the form of his life. Leopardstown was Gosden\u2019s call immediately afterwards. A four-week gap between races is usually ideal. Everyone is entitled to change their mind, and ground conditions have turned soft. But the original rationale behind the change of plan is hard to swallow. <\/p>\n

To conjure up a scenario where a horse might be blackguarded by multiple entries from one stable isn\u2019t difficult. The reality of how races are dictated by the blight of pacemakers means only the na\u00efve believe everything is always as it seems. But it would be a more credible dig if Ombudsman hadn\u2019t had his own pacemaker in York.<\/p>\n

The short-straight argument is risible. Leopardstown\u2019s straight is over two furlongs. The Del Mar stretch can almost be taken in a single gulp of air. Each horse is different but the contrast to how ambitiously Gosden campaigned the three-year-old Golden Horn a decade ago is striking. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, Ombudsman skipping Saturday, even before the likelihood of soft ground, is down to a lack of Godolphin pluck. <\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t the first time this season such a charge can be made. Sovereignty is the outstanding dirt three-year-old in the US this season. He is a champion, but skipping the Preakness meant missing out on a shot at a Triple Crown that all evidence suggests was his for the taking.<\/p>\n

Ombudsman\u2019s absence from the ICF is also a blow to the European pattern. There is a logic to the series of top races that writes itself for a top-notch 10-furlong performer such as Godolphin\u2019s star. It\u2019s designed to encourage competition, if you want to compete. <\/p>\n

That the Champions Festival lacks its expected headline attraction is hardly a unique occurrence. It is bogus, though, to use Ombudsman\u2019s absence as a basis for knocking the ICF. It remains a prospect to savour. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s true the event hasn\u2019t lived up to expectations in developing domestic public interest in flat racing. But it is firmly on the international radar. It sets up top-class opportunities at a perfect time of year. It is there to be used as a showpiece. But ultimately, no one can be forced to use it.<\/p>\n

Something for the Weekend<\/p>\n

The Irish Champions Festival focus means Doncaster\u2019s St Leger is in a secondary role, even with the dual-Derby hero Lambourn (3.40) lining up. He is joined by other Ballydoyle hopes in Scandinavia and Stay True. Paddy Twomey and Billy Lee will hope to open their classic accounts with Carmers.<\/p>\n

The prospect of ease in the ground may not be ideal for Carmers or Scandinavia but Lambourn is proven on it and can supply O\u2019Brien with a ninth success in the world\u2019s oldest classic.<\/p>\n

Leopardstown\u2019s Petingo Handicap will be down O\u2019Brien\u2019s list of weekend priorities, although Light as Air (6.05) should also be fine on soft going and is lurking dangerously at the bottom of the weights. O\u2019Brien had a one-two in the race a year ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By its own high standards, Saturday\u2019s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is a lacklustre renewal. But it shouldn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[40018,3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-131482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-file-photo","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}