New Ascot Group 1 Named Commonwealth Cup

Officials at Ascot Racecourse have announced that the new Group 1 event at the Royal Meeting next June will be named the Commonwealth Cup. The event, which will become the eighth top-level contest to feature during the five-day meeting, will carry purse money of £375,000 and is open to 3-year-old colts, geldings and fillies. The Commonwealth Cup will replace the Buckingham Palace S. and will be run on the Friday program, while the Wolferton S. has been moved from Friday to Saturday. The Duke of Edinburgh H. has been shifted to the Friday program. The introduction of the new race means total prize money for the 2015 Royal Ascot meeting will total £5,585,000, up from £5,310,000. 

“We are very excited about the Commonwealth Cup, which has already been talked of in positive terms by the connections of this year’s leading two-year-old filly, Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), and American-trained Hootenanny (Quality Road), who won the Windsor Castle Stakes at this year’s meeting and was subsequently successful at the recent Breeders’ Cup,” Charles Barnett, chief executive at Ascot, stated. “Longer term, we are looking to attract interest from connections of horses that have run in championship two-year-old races in Australia like the Blue Diamond and the Golden Slipper, as they are counted as 3-year-olds in the northern hemisphere at Royal Ascot. We think the Commonwealth Cup has significant potential.”