Perfect Power picks off rivals late in Commonwealth Cup

Last year’s Group 2 Norfolk Stakes hero Perfect Power showed he will be a sprinter to be reckoned with for the rest of the season with a dominant performance in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup.

A dual Group 1-winning juvenile over six furlongs, Richard Fahey’s stable star was stretched out over a mile in the 2,000 Guineas, but it was an experiment that didn’t come off as he finished seventh.

Given a patient ride today by Christophe Soumillon, the Ardad colt (7/2F) made smooth headway towards the far side and hit the front inside the final furlong to score by a comfortable length and a quarter.

Flaming Rib (14/1) took second, coming home strongly towards the stands’ side, with 40/1 chance Flotus half a length further back in third.

Soumillon, enjoying his third Royal Ascot winner, said: “It’s great. I think the track was a bit fast for him and, with that draw, I didn’t have any option but to sit back. When I looked around at the two-furlong marker, I saw I had seven lengths to make up. I thought that was a bit far, but in the race before I saw Ryan Moore took the same line and the track was looking good there. I’m sure Perfect Power can be much better on softer ground, so it’s good news.

“That is the greatness of a top trainer. We tried to give him more stamina for the 2,000 Guineas. Now we know he is a top sprinter. He is a great horse. He has such a big heart and when I came by, I wasn’t sure if he would quicken again, and then the last 150 yards he showed another turn of foot.

“It is very special to win here. That is why you have to be very humble when you come over here as it is the toughest place to win races. When you have the chance to ride a great horse for great owners and a great trainer, you have to put it all together.

“Perfect Power was the best two-year-old I have ridden in terms of speed and, now at three, he is still giving a great performance. I hope this is just his first Group 1 of the season and I’m sure that if he went to Deauville for the Prix Maurice de Gheest, that would be his race. Then maybe at the end of the season we go seven furlongs, but the trainer knows more than me.”

An emotional Fahey said: “He was further back than I wanted, but Christophe Soumillon is the man. When you have a great belief in a horse and he doesn’t let you down – it’s fantastic.

“When you’re a small trainer from the north of England, you need Group 1 horses. He has won three Group 1 races now, and it will be four soon. He is a special horse.