Qatar Nassau Stakes (Group 1)

THURSDAY was a red-letter day for Kieran Shoemark, as he celebrated his first Group 1 triumph aboard the William Jarvis-trained Lady Bowthorpe in the Qatar Nassau Stakes, the Group 1 feature of the day at Goodwood.

The 100/30 winner was stepping up in trip after a series of excellent efforts at around a mile, and she appeared to relish the trip as she broke her own duck at the highest level.

Lady Bowthorpe sat fourth for much of the contest as joint-favourite Joan Of Arc (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) made the running, and Shoemark brought her wide of the leaders with strong run in the straight, which she maintained to beat Oaks disappointment Zeyaadah (Roger Varian/Jim Crowley) by a length and a half.

Joan Of Arc kept on at one pace for third, but Audarya, the other joint-favourite, was very weak in the market all day and proved bitterly disappointing, offering nothing under pressure and finishing fifth of the six runners.

Winning rider Kieran Shoemark said: “I’m pretty speechless to be honest. Lady Bowthorpe is such a special mare. I just feel lucky to be a part of her. I know this horse so well and I can tell what form she is in just by cantering to the start.

“She took a hold of me cantering down and I knew she was in good form. She likes a bit of give in the ground, the question mark was the 10 furlongs. In all her previous races, her last furlong has been her best furlong so it didn’t concern me too much.

“Lady Bowthorpe bumped into an absolute champion in Palace Pier in the Lockinge. She was unlucky in the Falmouth, but it’s all worthwhile now.

Celebrate

“I’m delighted that we’re going to be able to celebrate tonight and really enjoy this. It’s a massive team effort. She’s a credit to her owner Emma [Banks] who is an incredible woman who fills me with absolute confidence. I’m just delighted.

Alluding to previous issues with alcohol addiction which threatened to derail his career, Shoemark continued: “My career is back on track now. I’m really enjoying the racing and to be involved in these huge days is what it’s all about. I’ve won a Group 1 today, but I’m already looking forward to the next one.”

William Jarvis has been on the Newmarket scene since the 1970s, but this was a first Group 1 success for him since Grand Lodge captured the St James’s Palace Stakes in 1994.

The trainer said: “We knew Lady Bowthorpe was smart when she won the Valiant Stakes at Ascot as a four-year-old. She was exceptional in the Dahlia Stakes and she’s a very, very smart filly.

“After she won the Dahlia Stakes, I thought that she should have the Nassau Stakes on her radar and we sort of worked back a little bit. Having said that, she hasn’t missed a beat, we went Dahlia, Lockinge, Royal Ascot, Newmarket, she’s a very tough mare.

“I’ve been dying to run her over 10 furlongs for a long time but events transpired against us until today. Anyway, I think she has proved that she’s even better than she is at a mile.

“I’ve never lost faith in myself as a trainer. Quite a lot of other people may well have done, which is why we’ve only got 28 or 29 horses in the yard. However, I’ve got a lovely bunch of staff working for me and they’ve never lost faith in the way that we operate and they give me everything.

Family unit

“We are a family unit and there is a lot of loyalty involved, including with Kieran who I am delighted for. There was a lot of pressure from outside people saying should we do this or that or leave Oisin Murphy sitting in the weighing room, but it never really crossed our minds.

“I am thrilled for Kieran. He is a delightful young man who has impeccable manners. He obviously went through a bad place but he came out through the other end. He is a delight to work with.”