JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL CONFIRMED AS FINAL LADBROKES COX PLATE QUALIFIER
The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) and York Race Committee will combine forces again in 2025, with the winner of the Group 1 Juddmonte International (2063m) on Wednesday 20 August to receive a ballot-free invitation to the Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
In 2024, the Juddmonte International was awarded the highest rating on Longines World’s Top 100 Group 1 races, as assessed by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). The race boasted a rating of 124.25, with a top four that included City Of Troy, Calandagan, Ghostwriter and Bluestocking.
The Juddmonte International is widely recognised as Europe’s premier 2000-metre race, with past winners that include Baaeed, Frankel and Sea The Stars.
Legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the race a record seven times, including last year, while Frankie Dettori leads the way among the jockeys with six wins.
This year, entries for the £1,250,000 feature include Coral-Eclipse Stakes winner Delacroix, Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Ombudsman and Sheema Classic winner Danon Decile.
“The Juddmonte International brings together a world-class field every year, and true to its name, the race has attracted overseas competition again with Japanese superstar Danon Decile,” Moonee Valley Racing Club Head of Racing Charlotte Mills said.
“That international competition is something we strive for in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate, and it has seen our race go to the next level over the past decade.”
William Derby, Chief Executive at York Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Moonee Valley Racing Club and this link between the Group 1 Juddmonte International and the Ladbrokes Cox Plate whereby the winner of York’s flagship race has the option of receiving a ballot-free invitation to the Cox Plate in Melbourne on 25 October."
"Incentives and initiatives such as this illustrate the global nature of our sport and help increase strong international competition and worldwide interest in elite horse racing. We hope race fans around the world will enjoy the top-quality sport at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival in York and then look forward to tracking the campaigns of the leading horses through the rest of the year on their international assignments.”
The Juddmonte International is the third and final of the Ladbrokes Cox Plate International Qualifiers for 2025, following the Takarazuka Kinen and the Saratoga Derby.