Last year’s race

• Winner: Ombudsman
• Jockey: William Buick
• Trainer: John & Thady Gosden
• Owner: Godolphin
• Age: 4 Weight: 9st 2lbs
• Starting Price: 7/1
• Season Form Figures: 2
• Previous Best: 2nd - Star Sports Brigadier Gerard Stakes (Group 3), Sandown (May 2025)

By Paul Jones

It used to be a case of concentrating on proven Group 1 winners, but Byword, Free Eagle, My Dream Boat, Crystal Ocean, Poet’s Word and the Gosden-trained trio of Lord North, Mostahdaf and Ombudsman were all winning at the highest level for the first time when successful here going back to 2010.

This season’s renewal is building up to be a belter, potentially featuring one of either the Arc winner Daryz, who is two-from-two in Group company since, or Calandagan, who would be chasing a sixth consecutive Group 1 victory for Aga Khan Studs, as well as reigning title-holder Ombudsman, who has since added the Juddmonte International to his CV, last season’s highest-rated filly Minnie Hauk, who won four Oaks before being touched off in the Arc, and recent Tattersalls Gold Cup winner Almaqam, so it may be a case of only Group 1 winners can apply.

Auguste Rodin was giving Aidan O'Brien a fifth success in the race two years ago following Duke Of Marmalade, So You Think (who made up for his defeat at odds of 4/11 the previous year), Highland Reel and Love. It could well be that Minnie Hauk will be his number one hope this season, despite her disappointing effort in the Tattersalls Gold Cup - a run that her trainer has told punters to put a line through, blaming the tempo of the race as they walked through the middle part, so she had no chance being a 1m4f filly. Can we infer from that statement that a higher-class pacemaker will be utilised whilst she remains over 1m2f for the time being? The POW is half a furlong shorter than the Tattersalls Gold Cup, where Almaqam led home a British-trained 1-2-3 ahead of Bay City Roller and Saddadd.

We potentially have a particularly strong bunch of five-year-olds in this season’s race, with Almaqam, Ombudsman, Calandagan, Kalpana, See The Fire and Sosie all in the mix to run. Anmaat finished second as a seven-year-old last season, so the oldest winner remains at six (Muhtarram and So You Think) since it became a graded contest in 1971.

Minnie Hauk, Kalpana and See The Fire would be attempting to become only the fourth filly/mare to win - after Ouija Board, The Fugue and Love - since the upgrade if declared.

With regards to key races run during the current campaign, nothing stands out particularly, with the Prix Ganay - won by Arc hero Daryz, who then added the Prix Aga Khan IV - and the Tattersalls Gold Cup having fared best. However, it can often be productive to note last season’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, with six of the last 22 winners having been beaten in this race 12 months ago. Ombudsman had See Of Fire back in third last season when giving John Gosden his fourth winner in the last 13 runnings, adding to the successes of The Fugue, Lord North and Mostahdaf.

The French-trained pair of Zarakem and Horizon Dore filled the places two years ago behind Auguste Rodin. The French won three runnings between 2007-2010 but none since. It appears very likely that just one of Daryz or Calandagan - who has won a King Edward VII, a King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and a Champion Stakes at Ascot - will represent the Graffard stable.

Godolphin used to run their best 1m2f horse in this race, but they struggled since registering three wins on the spin between 2000-2002, with just one more success until Ombudsman struck last season.

Two of the last 11 POW winners were having their first run of the season, but only Cercene of this season's entries is yet to run so far this campaign. With regards to recent form, 18 of the last 29 winners won last time out, while four winners failed to make the first three on their previous outing in the same time span.

Although we have had five recent odds-on favourites beaten (So You Think, Treve, A Shin Hikari, Cracksman and Bay Bridge), in that same timeframe only one winner has started at longer odds than 10/1 since the upgrade to Group 1 status in 2000. Over a longer period of time, only six of the last 36 winners did not start in the first four in the betting.