Any doubts that remained about Phenomenal Power were put to rest in emphatic fashion on Saturday as the three-year-old American-bred bay colt cruised to a length victory in the $10-million Diamond Mile at Caymanas Park. The performance answered questions that followed his disappointing fifth-place finish behind Desert of Malibu over six furlongs (1,200m) on July 18. That run came just two weeks after Phenomenal Power had broken the seven and a half furlong (1,500m) track record on July 4, leaving punters and horsemen wondering which version would show up for the Diamond Mile.
Sent off at odds of 9-1 in the Graded Stakes contest over one mile (1,600m), Phenomenal Power broke well from the gates and settled in third place behind Legacy Isle (Bebeto Harvey) and Pack Plays (Jaheim Anderson). Tajay Suckoo made the decisive move approaching the five-furlong marker, sending Phenomenal Power to the lead with a long, sustained run. From there, it was one-way traffic.
Phenomenal Power upped the tempo rounding the half-mile turn and was already clear entering the stretch. Under steady urging, the Adrian Prince trainee drew away in deep stretch to win ahead of Girvano (Tevin Foster) in second and Barnaby (Eric Haughton) in third. There was never a moment of concern as he stopped the clock in 1:34.40 minutes — a stakes record for the Diamond Mile.
The previous mark was 1:35.1, done by She’s A Maneater in 2019. It was just one-fifth of a second outside the long-standing track record of 1:34.3 set by Wantin An Havin back in 1997. The win also gave Phenomenal Power an automotive entry to December’s ultra-rich US$300,000 Mouttet Mile.
It was the third winner on the day for Suckoo as he also won aboard Danka for trainer Richard Azan in the fifth race and Boss Man for trainer Peter-John Parsard in the seventh race. Parsard also had an outstanding day as, in addition to Boss Man winning, he had three more winners on the 11-race card. Parsard saddled Turnonthelight (Raddesh Roman) in the opening event, Manoletti Majesty in the sixth race, and D Head Cornerstone in the 10th race.
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