Royal Ascot: Campanelle takes Commonwealth Stakes through disqualification

The Kentucky-based filly Campanelle maintained her perfect record in major European stakes when she was rightfully promoted from second to first in Friday’s Group 1 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old sprinters at Royal Ascot.

Campanelle finished second by a head to Dragon Symbol, who was disqualified and placed second for drifting to the outside and bumping with Campanelle in the six-furlong race on a straightaway course.

Campanelle, trained by Wesley Ward for Stonestreet Stable, finished five lengths clear of Measure of Magic in the field of 15 that had six withdrawals because of rain that left the turf course rated heavy.

Dragon Symbol, seeking his first stakes win for trainer Archie Watson, and Campanelle, unraced since a fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland last November, were both prominent from the start.

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There was little between the two runners in the final furlong. Oisin Murphy rode Dragon Symbol, while Frankie Dettori rode Campanelle.

Campanelle paid $12.40 in American pools, while Dragon Symbol was the 7-2 second choice. Suesa, a French filly who had won two Group 3 races earlier this year, was the 2-1 favorite, but finished eighth.

Campanelle’s performance on heavy turf and in her first start in more than seven months left Ward impressed.

“It’s a true testament of how good this filly is,” Ward said.

“Both horses ran fantastic. They dug down deep and they were only inches apart. I think it was a validated result. He has taken her across the track.

“Archie Watson shook my hand after the inquiry, a true gentleman.”

The rain was so extensive that an inspection was held before the start of the program to determine whether racing would be held, with participation from jockeys, trainers, and track officials. There were contingency plans in place to cancel Friday’s program and expand Saturday’s final day of the Royal Ascot meeting.

Track officials reported after Friday’s program that the track had sustained approximately 1.7 inches of rain in the preceding 24 hours.

Ward has won 12 races at Royal Ascot in his career and has focused in recent years on sending a team of runners to the most prestigious week of flat racing in Great Britain.

In 2020, Campanelle won her stakes debut in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot and followed in August with a win in the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville Racecourse in France on soft turf.

The Prix Morny result was on Ward’s mind before the Commonwealth Cup.

“We weren’t sure about heavy ground, but we knew she liked soft ground,” he said.

Campanelle was ponied to the start of the $493,500 Commonwealth Cup by Strike the Tiger, a 14-year-old gelding who gave Ward his first Royal Ascot win in a 33-1 upset in the 2009 Windsor Castle Stakes.

Ward said Campanelle is likely to race again in Europe this summer, with the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at 6 1/2 furlongs at Deauville on Aug. 8 preferred over the Group 1 July Cup at six furlongs at Newmarket on July 10. Both races would be Campanelle’s first start outside of her age group.

Campanelle, an Irish-bred filly by the Danehill stallion Kodiac, has won 4 of 5 starts, and is unbeaten in sprints.

Murphy was not out of the winner’s circle for long.

The champion jockey in England in 2019 and 2020, Murphy won the Group 1 Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile in the following race on Alcohol Free ($11.60).

Trained by Andrew Balding, Alcohol Free raced in the middle of the field of 11 before taking the lead in the final furlong. Alcohol Free finished 1 1/4 lengths in front of 16-1 Snow Lantern, who was a neck in front of Mother Earth, the winner of Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 2 and runner-up in the French 1000 Guineas at Longchamp on May 16.

Mother Earth, second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last November, was the 3-1 favorite in American pools in the $601,893 Coronation Stakes. Pretty Gorgeous, who finished fifth was the 4-1 favorite with British bookmakers, and the 4-1 second choice in American pools.

Alcohol Free, by No Nay Never, has won 4 of 6 starts for owner Jeff Smith. Alcohol Free won the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at six furlongs last September in her final start of 2020. Earlier this year, Alcohol Free won the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes at seven furlongs at Newbury, and was fifth in the English 1000 Guineas as the 5-2 favorite.

Smith is well known as the owner of such runners as the popular stayer Persian Punch in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Arabian Queen, who won the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York Racecourse in England in 2015.