Heart and Soul

Soul flew the flag for Australian-breds in England on Saturday when running home the four-length winner of the G3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury over 1200m.

The four-year-old son of Commands, who is now trained by Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor in Newmarket, tracked the leader Definightly before taking control of the race with 400m left to run and powering clear of his eight rivals for his fifth career win. Soul's previous start saw him finish just a length and a quarter behind superstar mare Black Caviar when fourth in the G1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Winner of the G2 Danehill Stakes at Flemington and a Sandown Listed contest when trained by Peter Snowden, Soul is out of the Night Shift mare Marvilha and was bred by Woodlands Stud.

He is one of 47 stakes winners for Commands, who stands at Kelvinside, NSW, for $55,000 (inc. GST). His best progeny include the G1 winners Paratroopers, Purple, Undue, Skilled, Erewhon and Russeting, while his multiple G2-winning son Rain Affair completed a record-breaking run on nine consecutive Sydney wins in February.