Perfect Brew, a four-year-old bay gelding bred by Bern Identity — Moonlight Brew, continued to show remarkable progress after winning the second staging of the $1.14-million Alsafra Trophy on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

Perfect Brew, trained by Hall of Famer Richard Azan, came from behind runners in the three-year-old and upward Overnight Allowance race over one mile (1,600m) to win going away by six lengths in a time of 1:38.0 (23.4 x 45.4 x 1:11.1).

Former Horse of the Year Further and Beyond finished second after a 343-day layoff following surgery to remove chip bones from his knees, in the latter part of last season. Third was claimed by Stomp The Rhythm.

“I went through his racing form to see which races he won and how he won them. I realised he’s a strong horse when he comes from behind, and that was the plan for the race,” champion jockey Dane Dawkins said.

“I was a little concerned when Further and Beyond was so far in front, but leaving the two-furlong marker, when I gave him [Perfect Brew] a couple of cracks from the whip, he started to respond and so I kept riding him and he won,” Dawkins explained to The Supreme Racing Guide.

Further and Beyond (Ameth Robles) jumped out to an early lead ahead of Crimson (Reyan Lewis) and Bern Notice (Raddesh Roman) as Perfect Brew settled in. As Perfect Brew made little progress, Further and Beyond began to open up on the field down the backstretch, ahead of Stomp The Rhythm (Anthony Thomas) and Marquesas (Tevin Foster).

Further and Beyond blazed the path through the half-mile (800m) turn, some 10 lengths ahead of Stomp The Rhythm, with Perfect Brew getting into overdrive going off the final turn.

When it appeared that all was lost in deep stretch, Dawkins delivered his mount for a tremendous effort and Perfect Brew pushed past a fatigued Further and Beyond in the closing stages of the race for an amazing win.

Perfect Brew was one of Dawkins’ three victories on the day. He also triumphed on Jaguar and Big Guy in the Sky.

“I am delighted for the winners and grateful for the connections,” he stated.

“It’s on and off because sometimes you have a good day and then you have a bad day; it’s just racing, but I’m happy with the winners.” ‘The goal is to keep my championship,’ Dawkins explained.