Chief executive William Derby is thrilled with the quality of the entries for the Group 1 races staged at York's Ebor Festival in August, with defending champion Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) and 2024 runner-up Calandagan (Gleneagles) featuring among 30 horses in contention for the £1.5 million Juddmonte International.Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Ombudsman was last seen winning the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot for the second consecutive year, while Calandagan is set to return to action in Sunday's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, having floundered in the testing conditions when finishing well beaten in the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom last time. He was previously crowned Longines World's Best Racehorse when registering four top-level victories in 2025, including a defeat of Ombudsman in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.Meanwhile, Prix du Jockey Club hero Constitution River (Wootton Bassett), who currently heads the betting for Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, features among a strong three-year-old contingent, along with his fellow Classic-winning stablemates Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) and Gstaad (Starspangledbanner).“To have the defending champion is always good,” Derby said of Ombudsman's intended return to the Knavesmire. “Some organisations have him as currently the highest-rated horse in the world, so that is very exciting after what he did at Ascot.“There are other amazing horses in there and it will be interesting to see if Constitution River heads our way after Sandown this weekend for the richest race we've ever staged.“The possibility of Calandagan again, after he forced City Of Troy into breaking the track record in 2024, means the Juddmonte International is shaping up to be a cracker.”Elsewhere at the meeting, American trainer Wesley Ward will be hoping to break his duck in the £600,000 Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes with his impressive Royal Ascot winner Bacio (Maclean's Music), having previously saddled Acapulco and Lady Aurelia to fill the runner-up spot in the five-furlong contest.Last year's winner Asfoora (Flying Artie) is another notable contender for Australian trainer Henry Dwyer among 36 entries, along with Japanese raider Satono Reve, who recently suffered a narrow defeat in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot for the second year in a row. The son of Lord Kanaloa is also one of 47 entries for the Sky Bet City Of York Stakes, which was run as a Group 1 for the first time in 2025.“Bacio is there for Wesley Ward, who came so close with Lady Aurelia,” Derby continued. “Asfoora is returning for her defence and Satono Reve is in both the Nunthorpe and City Of York after running an amazing race at Ascot, so I'm really excited about that. Ponntos is in there from the Czech Republic, Francis-Henri Graffard has some entries, too.“We've had a bumper entry for the Sky Bet City Of York in just it's second year [as a Group 1], so I'm really excited about that. It has quickly established itself in the minds of all connections. We had a great line-up last year, but it can only improve as people get used to it as a Group 1 option.“You've got the Queen Anne winner in Ten Bob Tony, Qirat, who won the Criterion here on Saturday and won the Sussex last year, and an Irish Guineas winner in Gstaad, so it brings horses stepping up in trip or down and three-year-olds meeting older horses – it's fascinating.“It's going to be World Pool this year on Saturday for the first time, also.”Finally, the Yorkshire Oaks could bring together the last two winners of the Oaks at Epsom in Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and Thundering On (Frankel), plus the multiple Group 1 scorers Diamond Necklace (St Mark's Basilica), Kalpana (Study Of Man) and Precise (Starspangledbanner).Minnie Hauk would be attempting to emulate Only Royale (1993 and 1994), Islington (2002 and 2003) and Enable (2017 and 2019) as a dual winner of the Yorkshire Oaks, while she could face a rematch with last year's runner-up, Estrange (Night Of Thunder), who is sure to have plenty of support from local racegoers if returning to York after her success in Saturday's G1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.“Given Estrange is trained by David O'Meara in Yorkshire, it would be great to see her have another go at the Yorkshire Oaks,” said Derby.“She was second to Minnie Hauk last year and we showed her win the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland on the big screen on Saturday, which went down very well. She won on quickish ground on Saturday, she's such a beautiful filly, we'd love to see her go one better.“It's like the first day of December almost for us with all the storylines coming together.”The post William Derby Delighted as Ebor Festival Highlights Take Shape appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.