Criterion has been included in the 2015 Juddmonte International Stakes field and the triple Group 1 winner is set to take on one of the strongest fields that has been assembled in Europe this season.
Criterion will take on the some of the best horses in the world when he contests the 2015 Juddmonte International Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Criterion was far from disgraced when he finished fifth behind Free Eagle in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes (2011m) at Royal Ascot on June 17, but he will face a far tougher challenge against the likes of Golden Horn and Gleneagles in the Group 1 event.
Golden Horn made his racing debut with a win in a maiden at Notthingham in October of last year and he stamped himself as a horse to follow when he took out the Listed Feliden Stakes (1810m) at Newmarket on April 15 and the Group 2 Dante Stakes (2092m) at York on May 14.
The Cape Cross colt lived up to the hype when he scored a dominant three and a half lengths win in the Group 1 Epsom Derby (2423m) on June 6 and he was rated the number horse in the world when he beat The Grey Gatsby in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes (2018m) at Sandown on July 8.
Golden Horn was set to contest the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2414m) at Ascot on July 25, but he was ruled out of the race due to the slow ground and saved for the Juddmonte International Stakes.
Gleneagles is another three-year-old that has been unbeaten this season and the two classic winners are set to meet for the first time in the Juddmonte International Stakes.
The son of Galileo took out the Group 1 National Stakes (1408m) as a two-year-old and he has taken out the Group 1 hat trick of the 2000 Guineas (1609m), Irish 2000 Guineas (1609m) and St James’s Palace Stakes (1609m) since returning to the races as a three-year-old.
Time Test is the only other horse that is available at single figure odds in 2015 Juddmonte International Stakes betting markets and he will have the chance to show whether he is the real deal in the Group 1 event at York.
The Roger Charlton-trained galloper started his 2015 racing season with a win in the London Gold Cup (2017m) at Newbury on May 16 and he earnt himself an opportunity in a race like Juddmonte International Stakes with a dominant victory in the Group 3 Tercentenary Stakes (2011m) at Ascot on June 18.
Prince Of Wales’s Stakes runner-up The Grey Gatsby, Desmond Stakes winner Cougar Mountain, John Gosden-trained Dick Doughtwylie and talented filly Arabian Queen.
