Last year’s race Winner: Perfect Power Jockey: Christophe Soumillon Trainer: Richard A Fahey Owner: Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum Age: 3 Weight: 9st 2lbs Starting Price: 7/2 Season Form Figures: 17 Previous Best: 1st - Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes (Group 1), Newmarket (September 2021) By Paul Jones This will be the ninth edition of this Grade 1 over 6f for three-year-olds, which has proved to be such a hit, so race trends are only just starting to bed in, hence the lack of pointers in the final summary. Proven quality has paid so far, with six of the eight winners officially rated between 114-119 beforehand (three of which were rated 117+). This season’s favourite Little Big Bear is rated 124 on his 2022 campaign, where he finished the season as Champion Two-Year-Old. In the first year it was won by champion sprinter Muhaarar beating subsequent July Cup winner Limato into second place, so a great start. The 2016 running wasn’t quite as high quality but the winner, Quiet Reflection, went on to add the Group 1 Haydock Park Sprint and had previously won the Sandy Lane, which has since featured another Commonwealth Cup winner, three seconds and a third. Rohaan beat Dragon Symbol into second in the 2021 Sandy Lane - the winner was then ineligible to run here, being a gelding, and so won the Wokingham instead, but would likely have gone close in this, while the runner-up passed the post in front in the Commonwealth Cup only to be disqualified. This season’s Sandy Lane was won impressively last month by Little Big Bear, appreciating the step back to sprinting (and a favoured stands’ rail draw) to beat Shouldvebeenaring  . Rohaan also won the Pavilion Stakes two seasons ago, won this year by Cold Case. The 2017 Commonwealth Cup was considered by many to be the race of the meeting heading into Royal Ascot, and it was Caravaggio that came out on top by beating Harry Angel and Blue Point in a very high-class renewal. The runner-up and third had previously met in the Pavilion Stakes at the Ascot April Meeting, a trial that featured the Commonwealth Cup winner Eqtidaar a year later, who was second in that contest. Returning to sprinting proved to be the key for Muhaarar, Advertise and last year’s winner Perfect Power after they had previously run in a Guineas, so expect a few contenders that didn’t stay a mile in various Guineas’ to line up here - Little Big Bear and Sakheer  from Newmarket being the two most obvious candidates. Golden Horde was a winning seasonal debutant in 2020, the season only starting two weeks before Royal Ascot due to Covid, as was Campanelle, who was rightly awarded the race in the stewards’ room. No winner had run more than twice earlier in the season. Campanelle and Quiet Reflection have won for the fillies. At a glance summary Positives: Contested the Sandy Lane Stakes, 2000 Guineas or Pavilion Stakes Officially rated 114+ (117+ even better!) Fillies Negatives: More than two runs this season