Six horses have been declared for the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday. The contest is one of the biggest evening races on the flat in Great Britain.
The headline act is Ombudsman, last season’s Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes hero at Royal Ascot. The Godolphin runner is to have his first run of the British flat season in the race on Thursday. It will likely serve as a warm-up for a repeat of Prince Of Wales tilt.
Ombudsman was second in this race 12 months ago. That day he finished behind Almaqam, who secured his first top level victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.
The Gosdens will be hoping he can hit the ground running in 2026. The five-year-old is already a winner this calendar year having claimed the Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan in March. However, John Gosden has suggested there is fitness, as well as victory, to be gained on Thursday.
“We’ve declared Ombudsman for Sandown on Thursday,” said John Gosden to the Racing Post. “He’s in good order. The race is going to bring him on to where we want him at Ascot. None of us has failed to be impressed by Daryz, who has been exceptional this season. The Prince of Wales’s Stakes looks like the race of the meeting.”
“When you train them in the winter, you have to hit the pause button when you get home. It’s quite tough training them through January and February to run in March and then you have the whole summer season, so we deliberately backed away afterwards but he seems happy and well in himself.”
Five rivals include Almeric and Gethin
Ombudsman is without doubt the star turn in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes. Among his five rivals are two fellow Godolphin runners who could help set the pace in Arabian Light and Bedouin Prince. Both are decent horses in their own right though.
Of more serious note are the other trio declared for the race. Almeric was impressive in 2025 before finding the Champion Stakes at Ascot too hot. He was disappointing on his return over course and distance, but does have race fitness on his side.
Gethin also possesses a profile full of potential. The four-year-old was purchased by Wathnan Racing at the start of the year after winning at Kempton at Listed level. That was an impressive performance and he has more to offer on turf.
The sixth member of the field is Wimbledon Hawkeye, a Group race winner in America last year. He regularly runs his race at a decent level.