A winning time of 2:03.32 was just 0.32s slower than the expected time for this race and having been committed for home at the top of the straight, I think that we can certainly say that the time does suggest that this was one of the best performances of Sovereign Spirit’s career, despite the fact that he did appear to be running on fumes in the final 50m. The speed figures on the infographic above do suggest that he was given a clever ride by Paul Mulrennan and the fact that Sovereign Spirit did not record the fastest individual furlong at any point in the contest would support that theory. Ideally placed after 400m behind the early leader (King of the Throne), Paul Mulrennan was able to get his mount to relax and although 3rd and 4th furlong splits of 11.85 and 11.99s aren’t considered to be rapid, they do suggest that this race was run at an honest pace, which a race finishing speed of 103.25 would look to confirm. As the field turned for home, King of the Throne’s race was run and as a result, that perhaps left Sovereign Spirit in front sooner than his connections may have liked, but Paul Mulrennan drove him into a 3 length lead with the fastest furlong of his race, recording 11.44s for the 8th furlong. At that point, he held a lead of 0.62s over Cracksking, although they both ran an identical time off 11.44s for the 8th furlong split. However, Sovereign Spirit had already reached his race peak for both his average stride length (7.67m) and his average stride frequency (2.29 per second) and if given this ride again, Paul Mulrennan may have preferred to hold on to him for longer. The runner-up was closing all the way to the line, but given the way the leader stopped around the turn and the fact that left Sovereign Spirit in front far sooner than he would have liked, he was probably better value than a winning margin of 0.01s might suggest.

Cracksking is a smart performer in his own right and has managed to win 4 of his 8 starts since moving to Bahrain from James Fanshawe. Since the Kubler team took over his training in 2025, he has taken his form to a new level, including a victory in the National Day Cup in December. He definitely ran his race on Friday, finishing with race best furlongs of 11.70 and 12.46s. He recorded an identical average stride length figure to Sovereign Spirit at 7.51m, but he had a much faster late speed figure of 59.12 km/h and in another 2 strides I’m confident that he would have won. There would appear to be very little between the pair and were they to meet again next month, there is every chance that the form could be reversed, although I would expect the winner to be played later given the way he finished. Ebrahim Nader did pick up a fine from the Stewards after the race for excessive use of the whip in the straight and not allowing his mount time to respond, but Cracksking was finishing like the proverbial train and if he got a clear run, the data would suggest that there is every chance that he could topple Sovereign Spirit next time.