Tony Bloom's Venetian Sun justified warm favouritism when fighting off the late charge of outsider Spicy Marg to land her second win at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup.
Twelve months after lifting the Albany Stakes on the same card, Karl Burke’s three-year-old filly took the running up a furlong from home and held Spicy Marg under Clifford Lee. Michael Bell’s Spicy Marg, a 50-1 shot, was just a head adrift, with Division in third.
Victory for Lee aboard the 11-8 market leader was an emotional one, completing a remarkable return to the top for the rider after suffering a potentially career-ending motorbike accident last year.
Burke said: “She is what she is, she’s such a laid-back filly. It was probably unusual the way she did it at Haydock last time, everyone was talking about how good it was visually, which it was, but I think the ground had a lot to do with that.
“I’ve said it before a few times; Clifford Lee, even when he was winning Group races on her, said she was feeling the ground. Haydock was probably the first time she’s raced on soft ground.
“I think that’s the reason she’s not been as visually impressive, but she’s still a Group One winner.”
He added: “It’s tough coming here, we came down with a big team. We’ve nine runners today, we’ve had a few placed horses and a few disappointments, but to get the banker in today is a great relief.”
Lee said: “We obviously tried to stretch her to the mile (ran in the 1000 Guineas), but dropped back to six she’s unbeaten now. She’s definitely a sprinter. A Group One at Ascot is great – everyone wants that Group One.
“I wanted to be a jockey and ride as many winners as I could at a young age, as a kid. It’s fantastic when days like this happen.”
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Bell was proud of his gallant runner-up, saying: “For 15 seconds I thought we had it, but we just got outbattled by a very good filly.
“She could be put in it (July Cup) and probably will be, but she needs to be supplemented.
“Realistically we thought we might finish fourth or fifth today at best and then go to York for the Summer Stakes. But on the back of that do we go to York? I think we need a conversation with Emma (Banks, owner).”
