Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) remain on course for a titanic clash at York next week, with the top-class duo featuring among 10 confirmations for Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International.John and Thady Gosden's Ombudsman was a brilliant winner on the Knavesmire 12 months ago and is favourite to go back-to-back following a successful defence of his G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes crown at Royal Ascot.In Constitution River, however, he faces a three-year-old of the highest order, with Aidan O'Brien's colt having travelled to France to claim Classic glory in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, before beating his elders for the first time in the G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.Ombudsman will be joined by his stablemate and pacemaker Devil's Advocate (Too Darn Hot), while Constitution River is one of four entries from Ballydoyle alongside Action (Frankel), Causeway (Wootton Bassett) and Hawk Mountain (Wootton Bassett).Andrew Balding is represented by Item (Frankel), who is unbeaten in two previous starts over the International course and distance. He first won May's G2 Dante Stakes, before bouncing back from a below-par effort in the Derby to rediscover the winning thread in the G2 York Stakes last time.Meanwhile, French hopes will be carried by the Francis Graffard-trained Zaydann (Dubawi), who is set to test the waters at the top level for the first time, having registered his fifth consecutive win in last month's G3 Grand Prix de Vichy.“We were looking at all our various options and he was either going to have to wait until Arc weekend, which we weren't very keen on because he is a good-ground horse, or we were going to have put him on a plane and go to somewhere like America,” said Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for the Aga Khan Studs.“We just felt why not give him a slightly easier trip, albeit for a much harder race! He's a four-year-old now and we kind of need to know his level by the end of this year, purely in terms of making decisions with him.”She added, “He's a very well-bred horse – he's a close relative of Zarak as he's by Dubawi and his granddam is Zarkava – and he's good-looking and has ability. It's just that nothing he has shown so far suggests that he can be up there with the top two [Ombudsman and Constitution River], but then he always does what we ask of him.“We're definitely putting it to him this time, but we'd be very happy if he's able to run into third place and maybe he'll surprise us – you never know.”Ed Walker has left in his stable star Almaqam (Lope De Vega), but the participation of the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner is typically dependent on there being sufficient ease in the ground.“We've talked about the weather and Almaqam so much,” said Walker. “He's undoubtedly better with just a little bit of ease in the ground. To be competitive or winning a race like that, I think he is going to have to have everything in his favour. I just can't see the weather playing ball, but we'll see.”Ralph Beckett's Pride Of Arras (New Bay) is the only other horse still in the mix at the six-day stage. Last seen filling the runner-up spot behind Item in the York Stakes, he was a dual Group 2 winner on the Knavesmire in 2025, including when winning the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes on this card.Twelve months on, the Great Voltigeur is again shaping up well with the first two from the Derby, Christmas Day (Camelot) and Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars), headlining the list of 10 three-year-olds still in contention.Irish Derby third Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) and the progressive Superior Choice (Dubawi) also feature among the standout contenders, with that pair both set to receive 5lb from the two Group 1 winners in the potential line-up.Christmas Day finished second in the Irish Derby at the Curragh last time, while Maltese Cross followed his excellent effort at Epsom with a first top-level success of his own in the Grand Prix de Paris.“He's in good shape,” trainer William Haggas said of Maltese Cross. “I don't like the 5lb penalty. I think 3lb would have been plenty, but it is what it is and we've got no other choice if we want to run in the Leger or the Arc. We need to run in a recognised trial and the Voltigeur is certainly that.“It'll be a tough race, especially with his penalty, but he's very well and doesn't appear to mind any ground, so we're very hopeful.”The post Ombudsman and Constitution River Confirmed for Juddmonte Thriller appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.