The Juddmonte International is always one of the most anticipated races of the British summer – and this year excitement levels are through the roof as defending champion Ombudsman faces off against budding superstar Constitution River in a York blockbuster.

John and Thady Gosden’s Ombudsman looked better than ever when successfully defending his Prince of Wales’s Stakes title at Royal Ascot, but now the five-year-old must concede 7lb to Ballydoyle’s next big thing, a colt who has lived up to Aidan O’Brien’s billing by blitzing his rivals in the Dee Stakes at Chester, overcoming adversity to win the French Derby and then rubber-stamping his prodigious talent in the Coral-Eclipse.

If there is a horse to upset the big two, the most likely candidate appears to be Andrew Balding’s Item, who has already shown his liking for the track by winning both the Dante and the York Stakes this season.

The Juddmonte-owned three-year-old did disappoint in a soft-ground Derby in between those two victories, but with conditions more in his favour this week jockey Colin Keane is hopeful he can at least make his presence felt.

“He shouldn’t be underestimated. Obviously he’s coming up against tough opposition, but I think he deserves to be there and I’m looking forward to getting back on him,” said Keane.

“It’s very easy to forgive his Derby run, I could tell early doors he wasn’t going to be effective on it to be honest but you’d love the way he bounced back the last day.

“To be riding a horse owned by Juddmonte in a race they sponsor with the three-year-olds taking on the best older horses, it is what it’s all about.”

Almaqam broke his Group One duck in the Tattersalls Gold Cup before finishing fourth behind Ombudsman at Ascot. His trainer Ed Walker will be hoping some ease in the ground might help him close the gap.

There is an interesting challenger from France in Francis-Henri Graffard’s Zaydann, who has won his last five starts but faces a steep rise in class.

Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for owners the Aga Khan Studs, said: “We thought it would end up being a fairly small field and thought why not have a go?

“He’s won his last five and the last three were stakes races. It was a slowly-run race last time, it developed into a sprint and he was still able to outsprint them in the end.

“He’s got a very good turn of foot and he’s a pretty straightforward ride, it’s just whether he’s of that level or not and we’ll find out.”

Picture: Focus On Racing