- Gosden excited for Royal Ascot clash
- Ombudsman made solid domestic comeback at Sandown
- Now set to take on Arc winner in Prince Of Wales’s defence
After Ombudsman won his Royal Ascot warm-up race at Sandown on Thursday evening, John Gosden is looking forward to his clash with Daryz.
Gosden Excited For Ombudsman vs Daryz At Royal Ascot
It wasn’t pretty but Ombudsman was a solid winner of his warm-up for Royal Ascot on Thursday at Sandown.
He landed the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes but the five-year-old didn’t get it all his way in the home straight.
Gethin was a gutsy challenger and battled him all the way to the line, before Ombudsman eventually won by a neck. The son of Night Of Thunder was second in that race last year but went one better this time around.
John & Thady Gosden’s horse was sent off 2/5f and it was a perfect pipe opener ahead Ascot.
Ombudsman is likely to face Daryz in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at the Royal meeting and it looks a straight shootout between the pair.
If successful, Ombudsman would become just the fourth horse to win the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes twice and he was an impressive winner in the race last year.
WATCH: Ombudsman Lands Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes
Three-time Group 1 winner Ombudsman fends off Gethin to land the @StarSports_Bet Brigadier Gerard Stakes 🥇 @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/dDsD1ZiBoW
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 28, 2026
John Gosden was speaking after the race:
“He’s more professional now as he doesn’t waste any energy – he’s like an old boxer. The mile-and-a-quarter races are pretty obvious for where he’ll be going. We’ll go to Ascot and then on from there.
“It should be a fabulous race with Daryz coming over from France. It’s what the game is about: top-quality horses meeting in those events. It could just be the race of the meeting.“
And Gosden is right, it could well be the race of the meeting. Daryz won the Arc de Triomphe last season, and is favourite to do so again later this year.
The latest Arc de Triomphe betting odds suggest that he could be hard to beat looking for back-to-back wins in the race.
He’s already won two Group 1s in France this season and it’s tough to separate him and Ombudsman in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
Latest Prince Of Wales’s Stakes Odds 2026
Despite his win at Sandown, Ombudsman remains the second favourite behind Daryz.
- Daryz 5/4 (Francis-Henri Graffard)
- Ombudsman 5/2 (John & Thady Gosden)
- Almaqam 10/1 (Ed Walker)
- Calandagan 10/1 (Francis-Henri Graffard)
- Kalpana 16/1 (Andrew Balding)
- Minnie Hauk 16/1 (Aidan O’Brien)
- See The Fire 20/1 (Andrew Balding)
- Bay City Roller 25/1 (George Scott)
- Damysus 25/1 (John & Thady Gosden)
- Saddadd 25/1 (Roger Varian)
- Lambourn 33/1 (Aidan O’Brien)
- Dancing Gemini 50/1 (Roger Teal)
- The Lion In Winter 66/1 (Aidan O’Brien)
- Expanded 100/1 (Aidan O’Brien)
- Royal Rhyme 100/1 (Karl Burke)
- Devil’s Advocate 150/1 (John & Thady Gosden)
- Mississippi River 200/1 (Aidan O’Brien)
