The Juddmonte International Stakes has been one of the greatest 2000-metre contests in world racing since its inception in 1972. Recently, it has showcased the likes of champion thoroughbreds Baaeed, Ghaiyyath, Roaring Lion, Sea The Stars and Frankel. In 2012, Frankel, a Juddmonte horse himself, won the race and earnt an international rating of 140, making him the highest-rated turf horse of all time.

In 2022, the Juddmonte International Stakes was won by the world’s highest-rated turf horse Baaeed, trained by William Haggas and ridden by Jim Crowley. The race received a rating of 121.50 on Longines World Rankings, making it the equal 11th best Group 1 race in the world last season.

As well as champion racehorses, the Juddmonte International Stakes has been won by some of the greatest jockeys and trainers racing has laid witness to. Legendary riders, the late Lester Piggott and the famed Frankie Dettori have both won the race a record five times each, while the leading trainer top-billing is also shared by racing royalty, Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien each with six wins apiece.

Aidan O’Brien is famous for being one of the connoisseurs of international travel and global competition. The master trainer has won major races in no less than ten countries and has a special connection with the W.S. Cox Plate that dates back to well over a decade ago.

In November 2010, dual W.S. Cox Plate champion So You Think was sold to Coolmore Stud and would race in Ireland and the UK before retirement. Aidan O’Brien trained him to win five Group 1 races abroad, to match his five in Australia. In 2014, O’Brien made history by becoming the first international trainer to win the W.S. Cox Plate with Adelaide, ridden by current TRC World’s Top Ranked rider Ryan Moore. He returned a year later with a superstar to be in Highland Reel, who ran third behind Winx, and then in 2019 he had Magic Wand run fourth. Armory was narrowly denied in second place in the 2020 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, before his son Joseph O’Brien would continue the family legacy and claim the 2021 Ladbrokes Cox Plate with State Of Rest.

This year the Juddmonte International Stakes promises to be another wonderful race. Dominant Prince Of Wales’s Stakes winner Mostahdaf is one of the key potential runners, while the pair of star Aidan O’Brien three-year-olds Paddington and Auguste Rodin could also be headline acts.

Aidan O’Brien stated it was great to hear that the Juddmonte International Stakes was now a qualifier for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate.

“The Cox Plate has enormous prestige and is a very important race for a colt to win, especially for a potential dual hemisphere stallion. We won it with Adelaide and more recently Joseph won it with State Of Rest. It is always a great race and a very prestigious race on the international calendar,“ he said.

MVRC Head of Racing, Charlotte Mills, said the opportunity to add another world-class race to the Ladbrokes Cox Plate pathway was very pleasing.

“We’re very keen to continue our great association with York Racecourse, and undoubtedly the winner of this year’s race will be more than worthy of a berth in the 2023 Ladbrokes Cox Plate.”

William Derby, Chief Executive of York Racecourse shared a similar sentiment when commenting on the pathway between the two races.

“The Juddmonte International Stakes and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate are two of the greatest Weight For Age races in the world, and it is a pleasure to have them correlate with one another in 2023.”

Nominations for the 2023 Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes will be finalised on 18th August 2023.