€80,000 Prince d'Orange (Gr3): Ombudsman just holds on

ParisLongchamp Racecourse, Sunday, September 8th, 2024 – The heavily-backed Ombudsman (Night of Thunder) secured his fourth consecutive victory in the €80,000 Prix du Prince d'Orange (Gr3), a race for 3-year-olds run over ten furlongs. The Godolphin colt, trained by John and Thady Gosden, entered the race as the clear favourite following his impressive win in the Prix Nureyev (L) at Deauville, a 1m2f contest that extended his unbeaten streak to three.

However, Ombudsman's victory was not exactly A1. The stewards ruled that he had caused interference to two rivals in the closing stages, though not enough to warrant a disqualification. Racing prominently on the rail, Ombudsman entered the straight behind First Look (Lope de Vega), who was soon challenged by Meydaan (Frankel), Map of Stars (Sea the Stars), and Supercooled (Lope de Vega). As the pacesetter drifted outside, Ombudsman found a clear path to the finish without needing to switch lanes. However, he himself drifted out twice, causing interference to two rivals. Despite this, he won by a decisive half-length from the only filly in the field, Start of the Day (Night of Thunder), who also found racing room late, and Supercooled, who finished nearly a length further back.

Ombudsman was purchased for £340,000 at the Tattersalls sales in Newmarket by Stroud Coleman. His full sister is set to be offered for sale at the same venue next month.

The dam of Ombudsman, Syndicate (Dansili), a winner of two races, is a full sister to the Group 3 winner Runnymede (Dansili) and the Listed winner and Group 2-placed Stipulate (Dansili).