Item was not even certain to start earlier in the week. By Wednesday afternoon, he had beaten the two horses expected to dominate the Juddmonte International.
Andrew Balding’s three-year-old produced a last-gasp surge under Colin Keane to deny Almaqam by a head at York, with Constitution River third and defending champion Ombudsman only fourth.
The 12-to-one winner had required intensive attention to a foot in the days leading into the race, leaving Balding unsure whether Juddmonte’s colt would take his place despite being declared.
Balding told Racing TV: “A big thank you to the team at home because we had a late scare with one of his feet and they've been up all night seeing to him and they've done an amazing job. Forty-eight hours ago we declared but it was an iffy one and it's come good due to their hard work.
“I liked the way we were travelling but I didn't like the way we didn't have a lot of room. To be honest with you, I would have been gutted if he had got beaten because to me, he travelled like the best horse in the race and had to work a little harder to get his run but he's very tough and a very good horse.”
Much of the build-up had centred on the clash between last year’s winner Ombudsman and star three-year-old Constitution River, but the expected match never came together.
Constitution River raced keenly behind pacemaker Hawk Mountain before weakening late, while Ombudsman was held up near the rear and had to work through traffic as the race began to unfold.
Almaqam enjoyed the cleanest passage and swept into the lead inside the final furlong, appearing set for a breakthrough Group 1 success before Item gradually wore him down.
The pair drew three and a half lengths clear of Constitution River, with Ombudsman unable to reproduce the acceleration that had carried him to victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
Item had already won the Dante Stakes and York Stakes on his two previous visits to the Knavesmire, either side of a Derby failure on heavy ground at Epsom.
Keane’s view from the saddle was less straightforward.
“He's a specialist around here, he seems to love it,” Keane was quoted by Thoroughbred Daily News as saying.
“At no point was I comfortable to be honest–not until William [Buick] came to me and he got between horses and that really got him going. It was only the last 50 yards I thought I had a chance. The rain was a worry, but it's fresh ground.”
