At stud, he was a modest success, siring the Group One winners White Muzzle, Wemyss Bight and Cherokee Rose before being sold and exported to Japan in 1991.

Commander in Chief did not run as a two-year-old and made his debut in April 1993 in a ten furlong maiden race at the Newmarket Craven meeting.

[4] On the 13 May he completed his hat-trick in the Glasgow Stakes at York, but in this race he was less impressive: Eddery attempted to make all the running on the 2/9 favourite, and he had to be pushed out in the closing stages to win by a neck from Needle Gun.

Owned like Commander in Chief by Khalid Abdullah and also unbeaten, Tenby's successes had come in more high-profile races such as the Grand Critérium and the Dante Stakes and he was made 4/5 favourite.

The build-up and betting suggested that the race would effectively be a match between Commander in Chief (4/7 favourite) and the French-trained Hernando, the winner of the Prix du Jockey Club who started at 9/4.

[10] On 24 July, Commander in Chief, now undefeated in five races, started 7/4 favourite for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, in which he took on older horses for the first time.

Commander in Chief raced prominently and took the lead in the straight, but in the closing stages he was overtaken and beaten one and a half lengths and a short head by Opera House and White Muzzle.

His best offspring included Rascal Suzuka, who finished second in the 2000 Spring Tenno Sho, and Ein Bride, the Japanese champion two-year-old filly.