THE 2026 running of the Phoenix Stakes looked sub-standard beforehand, just two of the eight runners having won last time, no English runner or true representative of the Coventry form. Furthermore, most of the fancied runners looked seven-furlong types that were running because it was a Group 1, rather than the race necessarily suiting them.

Despite all this, I am inclined to view the winner Sun Goddess positively because of her style of victory and Aidan O’Brien’s post-race comments that explained why she may have improved.