Golden Horn – unbeaten record on the line
Unbeaten Derby winner Golden Horn and 2,000 Guineas victor Gleneagles have been given the go-ahead for their much-anticipated clash at York today.
The pair head eight declarations for the Juddmonte International on the opening day of the Ebor meeting.
Time Test, Criterion and The Grey Gatsby are among rivals for what is being billed as the race of the season.
Also declared were Group Three winner Cougar Mountain, Arabian Queen and likely pacemaker Dick Doughtywylie.
Gleneagles, winner of the English and Irish Guineas over a mile for Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, will step up to a mile-and-a-quarter for the first time.
Unbeaten Golden Horn, the mount of Frankie Dettori for Newmarket trainer John Gosden, has already won the Dante Stakes, the Derby and Coral-Eclipse Stakes this season.
The going on the Knavesmire is currently good to firm, good in places, with a risk of showers on Tuesday before a dry forecast for the rest of the four-day meeting.
BBC racing reporter Frank Keogh suggests that Gleneagles versus Golden Horn is the contest racing fans have been pining for, though many felt might never happen.
It’s the leading miler against the top middle-distance colt, but this is no two-horse race.
The line-up boasts the winners of a total of 11 top-level Group One races, plus the improving Time Test.
Joseph O’Brien, the 6ft-tall son of trainer Aidan, will waste down to 8st 12lb for the ride on Gleneagles in the absence of injured Ryan Moore. He’ll have earned a big meal if the horse triumphs on the Knavesmire.
www.bbc.co.uk
