Perfect Power Looks to Add Commonwealth Cup to Resume

The June 17 Commonwealth Cup (G1) has moved on from being racing's new big thing. It is legitimately running with the Classics now as a vital group 1 for 3-year-olds.

It has reached the point where it is necessary to write down the stats just to keep up, as in the attached graphic. The seven runnings of the race have already produced 24 wins and 14 individual winners of open-age group or grade 1s. That is significantly more than the St Leger (G1) over the same period, and the Leger arguably flows into a softer pool of open-age races.

While the Commonwealth Cup acts like a classic, it does not get treated like one. Aidan O'Brien and Charlie Appleby tend to run at least one each year, but they do not send out huge squads that take up half the market. The big breeding operations do not dominate the stock in sprints like they do over the traditional Classic trips. In fact, this field of 20 has more runners from the North than from Newmarket and Lambourn.

Class act Perfect Power  and winning machine El Caballo  top the betting for Yorkshire trainers Richard Fahey and Karl Burke. Both know their way around this race. Burke won it with Quiet Reflection in 2016, Fahey was second with Sands of Mali in 2018.

Perfect Power will drop back to his "best distance" when he bids to follow up his narrow success in last year's Norfolk Stakes (G2).

The 3-year-old by Ardad  denied Go Bears Go by a head at last season's royal meeting and has won three times since, including in the seven-furlong Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes (G3) on his penultimate start for Fahey.

Perfect Power then finished seventh when stepped up to a mile for the first time in the Qipco Two Thousand Guineas (G1), six and a quarter lengths behind the winner Coroebus , but is dropping back to six furlongs at Ascot.

"He's got a good chance," said Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum. "We'd have preferred easier ground and a better draw but his preparations have gone well.

"He ran in the Guineas and we were a bit skeptical about if he'd get the trip, so he's coming back to what we feel is his best distance."

El Caballo has hardly put a foot wrong for trainer Karl Burke and will attempt to extend his winning sequence to seven under Clifford Lee.

He has rapidly risen through the ranks, winning four times on the all-weather after getting off the mark in May 2021 before claiming the Sandy Lane Stakes after a thrilling finish with Flaming Rib.

El Caballo narrowly beat another of his Commonwealth Cup rivals, Tiber Flow , on his penultimate start on the all-weather at Newcastle.

"He's in great form," said Burke. "I'm very happy with him. I hope they keep putting plenty of water on as I wouldn't want the ground too quick for him. I think he can step up from his Sandy Lane run."

Fahey and Burke, as well as Kevin Ryan (third with Hello Youmzain in 2019) and Clive Cox (won with Golden Horde two years ago) are the tier of trainers who have generally been locked out of Classics by the major operations but who have had more joy in this race. Ryan has three runners: Boonie , Gis A Sub , and Hala Hala Athmani . Cox has been represented in this race more than just about anyone else, but he opts for a single arrow this year.

Wings of War  won the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes (G2) last year, which ticks off a Commonwealth Cup trend as all but one winner had won at pattern level as a juvenile. He has the build of a better 3-year-old and his two runs so far in a couple of major trials have strongly hinted he is building up to this race.

In particular, when third behind El Caballo and Flaming Rib  in the Cazoo Sandy Lane Stakes (G2) last time, Wings of War raced freely off the pace and made ground late. Those tactics are so-so at Haydock, but they are perfect for Ascot. He has been laser-targeted at this and commands respect at double-figure odds.