At age 4, Ulysses hardly is an old man, but he is old enough to give meaningful weight to a host of 3-year-old challengers Wednesday at York in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes. Ulysses beat the younger set two starts ago in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes, but his margin of victory over the 3-year-old Barney Roy was just a nose, while Cliffs of Moher was impeded by the horse entered as his own pacemaker. Both of those horses are back in the International, as is the 3-year-old Churchill, who looked like the top of his crop until finishing fourth in his most recent race, the St. James’s Palace, about two months ago at Royal Ascot. Under the conditions of the International, older horses like Ulysses carry 132 pounds, while his 3-year-old challengers get in at 125, and even skeptics regarding the impact of weight probably would concede that seven pounds over 1 5/16 miles is not meaningless. Shutter Speed, a 3-year-old filly, gets in at a feathery 122. Shutter Speed, who was fourth last out in the Group 1 French Oaks, is a Juddmonte homebred trained by John Gosden, and the Ulysses camp is all too familiar with those connections. In the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Ulysses’s most recent start, he gave futile chase to Enable, the Juddmonte-Gosden 3-year-old filly who is the heavy early favorite to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Enable beat Ulysses by 4 1/2 lengths but did so while pulling 14 pounds fewer over 1 1/2 miles. The smaller gap in the weights as well as the International’s shorter distance should help Ulysses, who will have regular jockey Jim Crowley in the saddle. Drying conditions at York this week also help Ulysses, but none of the chief combatants depends on cut in the ground to produce his best. Barney Roy, an Excelebration colt trained for Godolphin by Richard Hannon, has made only five starts and was stretched beyond one mile for the first time in his fine effort in the 1 1/4-mile Eclipse. His campaign, however, began in April, and after improving from race to race all the way through the Eclipse, it’s fair to wonder if Barney Roy can do any better Wednesday. Ryan Moore winds up on Churchill for Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien, and while Churchill proved no match for Barney Roy at Ascot, and though Barney Roy had trouble when Churchill defeated him at Newmarket in the English 2000 Guineas, a fresh, rejuvenated Churchill who goes beyond one mile for the first time is an interesting prospect. Seamie Heffernan rides Cliffs of Moher, who also should be accorded a decent chance. Second in the Epsom Derby, Cliffs of Moher lost any chance at Eclipse success when he had to be taken up about seven furlongs out, and the rest of his form, while perhaps tilting toward a 1 1/2-mile horse, is solid. The 5-year-old Decorated Knight also got caught up in the Eclipse traffic and, with a win in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in May, clearly is better than his sixth-place finish. But whether better is good enough to handle Ulysses at level weights or the talented 3-year-olds is a different question. Post time for the International is 10:35 a.m. Eastern. ◗ The Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1 1/2 miles, which immediately precedes the International, appears to be much more straightforward: It is Cracksman’s race to win or lose. Cracksman was against the race flow while finishing third in the Epsom Derby, then was beaten a neck last out in the Group 1 Irish Derby. Cracksman is a horse who is supposed to improve with age, but all he needs to win Wednesday is to hold his form.