ASCOT, England, June 18 (UPI) -- Sole Power, often a bridesmaid in top races, finally got top billing in Tuesday's Group 1 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
With Johnny Murtagh up, the 6-year-old gelding got the better by a neck of the favorite, South Africa-trained Shea Shea. Pearl Secret was another 1 1/4 lengths back at the end of the 5-furlongs sprint.
Sole Power was making his 30th career start after disappointments that included second- and fourth-place finishes in the last two runnings of the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai, a third in last year's King's Stand and a third in the 2011 Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye in Paris.
Shea Shea was coming off a win in this year's Al Quoz Sprint but trainer Mike De Kock had expressed fears leading up to Royal Ascot that international travel had taken a toll on his star sprinter.
Trainer Edward Lynam said Sole Power might run back on Saturday in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee. The King's Stand and Diamond Jubilee are both legs of the Global Sprint Challenge, which requires three wins in three different countries to pay out its $1 million bonus.
