Royal Ascot: Spendarella can't hold off Inspiral in Coronation Stakes
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The American shipper Spendarella finished a game second at Royal Ascot in the Coronation Stakes, but was no match for super-filly Inspiral on a day where favorites won the two Group 1 races Friday.
Inspiral, at 6-5, stormed by most of the field, Spendarella included, capturing the one-turn mile Coronation to remain undefeated after five starts. And Perfect Power, Europe’s best 2-year-old sprinter of 2021, stamped himself as the leading European 3-year-old sprinter this year with an emphatic victory in the Commonwealth Cup.
Spendarella got a good trip under William Buick tracking pacesetting Cachet, coming outside the leader after turning into the homestretch and briefly looking like she might give England native Graham Motion his first Royal Ascot winner. Instead, Spendarella found one filly better, just as the Motion-trained Sharing had with Alpine Star in the 2020 Coronation – and Inspiral was much, much better.
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Europe’s best 2-year-old filly last season, Inspiral missed the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in early May after failing to come around quickly enough this spring for co-trainers John and Thady Gosden. Her connections weren’t certain the filly had trained on at age 3 and, complicating matters Friday, Inspiral flopped out of the gate; she and jockey Frankie Dettori, who’d had a difficult Royal Ascot meet to that point, still had only a few horses behind them with a quarter mile to race. But Inspiral is special. Threading her way through the field, she pounced on the leaders with a furlong to race and opened up impressively, winning her first race since October by nearly five lengths.
Inspiral, by Frankel out of Starscope, by Selkirk, is a homebred owned by Cheveley Park Stud. She paid $4.60 in the U.S. and clocked 1:39.20 over good-to-firm going. John Gosden mentioned the Nassau Stakes, at 1 1/4 miles, and the Prix Jacques Le Marois, at a mile, as possible spot for Inspiral. While a mile is as far as Inspiral has gone so far, Gosden and Dettori expressed confidence the filly could get 1 1/4 miles.
Inspiral was the first winner of the week for Dettori, who was fumbling with Lord North’s hood at the start of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday, costing his mount any chance at victory. Gosden also criticized Dettori’s ride Thursday aboard Stradivarius in the Gold Cup as well as his piloting of Saga later that card.
Spendarella lost for the first time in four outings but lost nothing in defeat, hanging on gamely to win a photo finish for second over Discoveries. “I think Spendarella is a Grade 1 filly and she proved that today,” Motion said. “She’ll go back to the States now. I don’t come over here just for the hell of it. I have to feel good about it to come. We’ve run second a couple of times now, so I feel like I know what it takes.”
Pizza Bianca, the other American horse in the Coronation, never made an impression and finished eighth.
Slipstream, the American horse in the Commonwealth Cup, which was for 3-year-olds over a straight six furlongs, finished a distant 18th as Perfect Power beat 19 rivals while showing just how tough he is in races up to seven furlongs. Seventh in the one-mile 2000 Guineas, Perfect Power added the Group 1 Commonwealth to Group 1 wins over six furlongs last season in the Prix Morny and the Middle Park Stakes.
Trained by Richard Fahey, Perfect Power was ridden by Christophe Soumillon, who brought his mount into contention near the stand’s side rail with about three furlongs to run. Perfect Power cruised to the lead and drifted left to engage onrushing Cadamosto in the final furlong, going on to a 1 1/4-length win over Flaming Rib. Flotus finished third as Cadamosto, intimidated by the winner, lost momentum and faded to fourth. Winning time over the good-to-firm going was 1:12.85. Perfect Power, by Ardad out of Sagely, by Frozen Power, paid $6.80 in the U.S. Fahey said Perfect Power would be kept to races at seven furlongs and shorter this summer.
The card’s other American runner was the Wesley Ward-trained Ruthin, who was a huge disappointment in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes, finishing 26th of 27.
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Heavily favored Changingoftheguard won a photo finish over longshot Grand Alliance to win the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes, with Ryan Moore riding the front-running winner for trainer Aidan O’Brien. The Dark Angel filly Heredia remained unbeaten after four starts with a one-length win in the Sandringham Stakes, and the William Haggas-trained 4-year-old Kingman colt Candleford was a breakout winner of the 1 1/2-mile Duke of Edinburgh Handicap, winning off by six lengths.