Ombudsman Dominates For Prince Of Wales's Repeat

The money spoke for Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) ahead of Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes and by the line the 11-10 odds were looking generous as the Godolphin kingpin romped to glory.

Becoming the first to win more than one of this Royal Ascot feature since it was turned into an elite contest, the market-leader turned what had been long touted as a match with Daryz (Sea The Stars) into a one-sided affair with a four-length success. Last year's Arc winner failed to see off the Arc runner-up Minnie Hauk (Frankel) for second, losing out by 1 3/4 lengths to the filly.

“It was a truly-run race, which is what we wanted and I loved the way picked up there,” John Gosden said of the emphatic winner, who was breaking William Buick's duck for the week. “I'm thrilled that he's come to Ascot and proved it again.”

This stunning display was made possible not by the forceful tempo set by Ballydoyle and Godolphin's pacemakers, who were clear on the home turn having been largely ignored by the main field, but by the effort of Minnie Hauk who took no prisoners in front of the real contenders. While Daryz couldn't live with the demands on a second flat English career foray, Ombudsman was only really coming alive heading to the final quarter mile.

Setting sail there, the favourite who had demonstrated his prowess also in the Juddmonte International and Dubai Turf since this race 12 months ago destroyed any concept of meaningful competition with a killer penultimate 11.41 and a final 12.02 for his voila moment. To demonstrate what he achieved here, his 35.10 closing three-furlong sectional around a turn eclipsed Ten Bob Tony's in the opening day's Queen Anne, who managed just 35.36 on the straight course.

“It is quite something to come away from a field like that,” Gosden Sr added. “He's got a phenomenal turn of foot, great acceleration for a mile-and-a-quarter horse. He just showed that class. I thought it was one of the great performances of his career.”

Buick had the joy of the steering job and added, “I was really impressed with him today–he had been faultless going to Meydan and beyond and so there was a great deal of expectation, but I don't think you can ever expect a performance quite like that,” he said. “We had great respect for Daryz, of course, Minnie Hauk was so good last year and Almaqam was good in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, but we know what Ombudsman can do. He was exceptional today and I was pleasantly surprised how good he was, but he's probably now the finished article.”

This is a Breeders' Cup Win and You're In for the Turf, but Gosden was not committing to any long-term targets beyond the summer. “There's the Eclipse and the Juddmonte International will be a major target, of course, as he likes York,” he said. ” “We always watch them for the next week to ten days and they tell you.”

Aidan O'Brien said of Minnie Hauk, “We are delighted. We thought what happened the last day was that she's really a mile-and-a-half filly and over a mile and a quarter she wanted an end-to-end gallop. She's so straightforward. Ryan rode her very confidently, like there was no doubt about anything today. He said she kept travelling from the three to the two, while the winner had a little bit more speed than her over a mile and a quarter. The lads will decide what they want to do, but I'd say something like the King George, one more run and then the Arc. That would work very well. This was the perfect prep for the King George today.”

Francis Graffard was clearly disappointed with the effort of Daryz, who showed none of the dash that he had so far in France this year. “I don't know what to say, he just didn't have a very good run,” he said. “They had these two pacemakers that went forward quite clear and my horse was not covered–he never really relaxed and had a chance to take a breath. I don't think he relaxed through the race–he was out of his rhythm all the time and that's why he shortened up his action at the end.”

“Ombudsman had a perfect run and didn't have to make any effort up to entering the straight, while we had to make an effort all the time,” he added. “That's the way the race went. We didn't see the Daryz of Longchamp, when he was nice and relaxed and quickened really strongly. Today, he was not like that.”

HE'S DONE IT AGAIN! OMBUDSMAN DEFENDS HIS PRINCE OF WALES'S STAKES TITLE! #ROYALASCOT pic.twitter.com/3h9dVTFMcM

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2026

Pedigree Notes
Ombudsman is the second foal out of Syndicate (Dansili), a full-sister to the Premio Carlo Vittadini winner Runnymede and the dual Listed winner and Celebration Mile runner-up Stipulate. Her second dam is the Listed scorer Insinuate (Mr. Prospector), who produced the Group 3 winners Convey (Dansili) and Stronghold by Dansili's sire Danehill. The fourth dam is All At Sea (Riverman), who captured the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and was placed in the Oaks and Juddmonte International.

From the family of the four-times Group 1-winning Twice Over (Observatory), Syndicate's three-year-old filly by Night Of Thunder, Synchronicity, was a 900,000gns purchase by SackvilleDonald at 2024 Tattersalls October Book 1. Labelled a TDN Rising Star on debut, she has since disappointed but retains abundant potential. Syndicate's two-year-old filly Syndicale is by Ten Sovereigns.