David Morgan
If you’re looking for an extra dash of ‘wow’ at Goodwood, the Nassau Stakes is usually the place to look: the incredible Ouija Board’s epic duel with Alexander Goldrun is a standout, but then there’s Ruby Tiger’s double, Midday’s brilliant hat-trick, and Deirdre’s triumph for Japan six years ago.
No more than five fillies and mares will go to post this time but it’s a select field that promises to live up to the race’s billing. Three from the Classic crop feature the G1 Pretty Polly Stakes heroine and Oaks second Whirl, the fairytale G1 Coronation stakes winner Cercene, and the French Oaks second Bedtime Story; then there’s last year’s runner-up See The Fire and the classy five-year-old Running Lion.
Whirl and Bedtime Story represent trainer Aiden O’Brien who has won the mile and a quarter contest five times. Three-year-olds dominated for a decade from the 1990s into the 2000s but the last 21 years has the score at 11-10 in narrow favour of the classic crop.
Whirl’s last start victory over Kalpana looks even better since that rival placed second to Calandagan in the G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes last Saturday. That’s as good form as you’ll see. But it will be interesting to see if Cercene has improvement in her, venturing beyond a mile.
NAP: R4 #5 Whirl
Andrew Hawkins
The G3 Gordon Stakes is one of Goodwood’s best guides to a future star – not just heading towards the G1 St Leger at Doncaster in September but beyond that as well.
A total of 10 horses have gone on to win the St Leger, including Jan Brueghel last year, while other Gordon Stakes winners this century include international Group 1 winners like Phoenix Reach, Conduit, Highland Reel and Cross Counter.
Merchant’s King George V Handicap win suggested he was capable of stepping up into Group company and holding his own. That form was further franked when runner-up Serious Contender ran a narrow second in the G1 Irish Derby. His trainer William Haggas and jockey Tom Marquand won this race for King Charles III with Desert Hero two years ago and he looks a terrific stayer in the making.
Rahiebb, second to Merchant in a York handicap before finishing third in the G2 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, meets Merchant eight pounds better, while Group-placed Galveston, Wimbledon Hawkeye and Windlord add further interest. ∎
NAP: R3 #2 Merchant
