GODOLPHIN have paid a whopping £85,000 to add a shock ‘proven performer’ into the Juddmonte – but there’s a catch.
The Andre Fabre-trained dual Listed winner Birr Castle is a surprise addition to the star-studded field.
But he will be given absolutely zero orders to win the £1.25million Group 1.
And instead be used solely as a pacemaker for the John & Thady Gosden-trained Ombudsman.
The Clarehaven team are busy readying their stable star for his big rematch with Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix in Wednesday’s blockbuster.
And they want to ensure he gets a good gallop after being chinned late on by the Irish raider in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
Birr Castle, a five-year-old gelding who was beaten just a length by Ace Impact in 2023 before he went onto win the Arc de Triomphe, will be used to set the early fractions.
The last thing the Gosdens want is a dawdling pace which could play into Delacroix’s rapid finishing kick.
More to follow.
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