Frankel's Item wins the Juddmonte International Gr.1

Fourteen years on from Frankel’s unforgettable seven length triumph in York’s Juddmonte International Stakes, his three-year-old son Item won an absorbing renewal of the Gr.1 on the Knavesmire yesterday afternoon.

Taken from European Bloodstock News, 20th August 2026

Just the third horse to win this race in the Juddmonte silks, following Frankel and Twice Over in 2011, the Andrew Balding-trained Item was ripping up the pre race script that billed this as a straight match between last year’s winner Ombudsman and the leading Ballydoyle three-year-old Constitution River.

Hawk Mountain forced a strong gallop from Constitution River, with Almaqam sitting in mid-division, while Item and Ombudsman raced in the final quartet just over ten lengths behind the speed. Hawk Mountain surrendered the lead to Constitution River three furlongs from home, as the entire field stuck to the far side, and Almaqam always caught the eye with the way he was travelling. Meanwhile, Ombudsman was meeting congestion as he explored a gap up the rail and Item had to switch around rivals after his initial run was blocked. With Constitution River unable to put the race to bed, Almaqam moved to the front a furlong out and appeared to have victory in his grasp, only for Colin Keane to conjure a fabulous late surge from Item to reel him in and win by a head.

The magnificent performances of the front pair are underlined by the three and a half-length gap they put on Constitution River back in third, while Ombudsman was never quite able to hit top gear and finished a further length away in fourth.

This was a fifth win in six starts for Item, a Juddmonte homebred who went unbeaten in two appearances at Kempton and Bath last year. His love affair with York began when he won the Gr.2 Dante Stakes over yesterday’s course and distance on his reappearance in May, and he then rebounded from an unplaced effort in the Gr.1 Derby at Epsom to win the Gr.2 York Stakes in July, again over 1m2½f at his favourite track.

Fresh from winning this race for the first time, Andrew Balding said “It’s obviously one of the most important races of the year, so it’s lovely to win it with a horse like this. We’ve pitched him in some good races with the belief he would do well in them. He’s just kept improving and improving physically; that’s the most important thing. He’s really a very different horse to the one in the Dante."

A half-brother to the Listed Prix Matchem winner Temptable (Kingman), Item is one of three winners out of the Gr.1 Natalma Stakes heroine Capla Temptress (Lope De Vega), while the winning second dam Mrs Beeton (Dansili) is a half-sister to the prolific Gr.3 winner and Gr.1-placed Stotsfold (Barathea). Item is the 43rd individual Gr.1 winner for Frankel and his second winner of this particular race following Mostahdaf in 2023