Karl Burke's star filly enhanced her ever-growing CV with a battling success in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on Friday.

Winner of the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and Prix Morny before finishing third behind Precise in the Moyglare Std Stakes at the Curragh, Venetian Sun returned to action when failing to stay the mile in Newmarket's 1000 Guineas.

However, dropped back to six furlongs, she proved she retained all of her juvenile ability with a commanding success in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock and was subsequently sent off 2.2 chance to follow up in Royal Ascot premier sprinting prize for three-year-olds.

Karl Burke's charge travelled powerfully in the hands of Clifford Lee but had to battle once striking the front in the final furlong, with both the held-up Spicy Marg and reopposing Division emerging on the scene with major challenges.

It looked as though Spicy Marg might just prevail as she came upsides late on but too her credit, Venetian Sun stuck her head down and went on to strike by a head. Division, who was three lengths adrift at Haydock, finished a half length further back in third.

"That's more relief than enjoyment," said Burke of the horse who plundered the Albany Stakes on the same day twelve months ago. "She is what she is, she is such a laid-back filly,"

"It was probably unusual the way she did it at Haydock last time and everybody was talking about how good it was visually, but I think the ground had a lot to do with that.

"Haydock was probably the first time she's actually raced on soft ground. I think that's probably the reason why she's not been as visually impressive, but she's still a Group 1 winner."

Burke, who landed the race ten years ago with Quiet Reflection, added: "It's tough coming here. We came down with a big team, we've got nine runners today, we've had a couple of placed horses, but generally we've had a few disappointments, so to get the banker in was very relieving."

Victory marked an emotional moment for Clifford Lee who was claiming his first major success since a potentially career-ending motorbike accident last year.

He said: "She won it nicely; she jumped the gates very well and travelled strong. I was upsides one of the best horses in the race as well, going to the two pole I just thought I was going to pick them up.

"I had five-and-a-half months off as I broke my C1, but I felt I've come back stronger and better. It helps riding good horses. It took me a long time to actually get back fit. It's great to be back, on big days like this I'm glad for the team back at home that do all the hard work."

Image: Focus On Racing