With all the Queens that took to the track for the latest qualifying heats of the Arlington Gold Cup, you could be forgiven for expecting the race to be a bit of a drag but watching two of these older ladies battle it out proved to be great value entertainment.

Karl Khoder stable’s flag bearer, Rule The Air, was the first leg of a remarkable brace of wins in the latest round of Juvenile Classic Qualifiers which saw him stake his claim on the Juvenile Championships in uncompromising style.

Looking at the cards for the latest Juvenile Classic Qualifiers, the first thing to jump off the page at you is the strength in depth of quality of the colts and fillies that would be contesting these events.

The billing for the latest Juvenile Stayers Qualifier Colts would have you believe the race would be another grudge match showdown between virtual equine giants Dakota Celery and Rule The Air. The result would tell a different story. There is a new boy in town and he goes by the name of Commander Legend.

Although he has been placed on numerous occasions in juvenile qualifiers, only twice has Karl Khoder’s Rule The Air managed to get his head in front in this grade. However, both of those two qualifier wins came over 2400m, the same as today’s test and on both those occasions he also had Dakota Celery behind.