York: Twice Over bests stablemate in Juddmonte International Stakes

Twice Over pulled a mild upset in Wednesday’s Juddmonte International Stakes at York Racecourse in England, winning his first Group 1 race since October and giving jockey Ian Mongan the biggest win of his career.

Sent off at 11-2 in a field of five, Twice Over caught stablemate Midday, the 5-year-old mare, in the final furlong of the race over about 1 1/4 miles to win by three-quarters of a length.

The disappointment in the race was Await the Dawn, the 8-13 favorite, who was near the leaders with a furlong remaining but faded to finish third, 5 3/4 lengths behind Twice Over. Before the International Stakes, Await the Dawn was the 5-1 favorite with some British bookmakers for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November.

Twice Over and Midday are owned by Juddmonte Farms and trained by Henry Cecil. Their 1-2 finish is the latest success in a remarkably strong year for the stable. The Juddmonte-Cecil team also has the undefeated star 3-year-old miler Frankel.

The International Stakes win was by far the biggest success of Twice Over’s season, which includes three wins in six starts. He won a Group 2 race in Dubai in March, lost three consecutive Group 1 races, and won the Group 2 York Stakes at York in July. Last year, his season was highlighted by a win in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket, a race on his schedule for Oct. 15 this year.

The International was the feature race on the first of the four-day Ebor meeting at York.