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Qatar Nassau Stakes (Group 1)
THE Group 1 Nassau Stakes was billed as a Cross-Channel grudge match between the winners of the last two runnings of the Prix de Diane, with the market favouring Blue Rose Cen over 2022 Nassau winner Nashwa.
However, it’s always dangerous to discount the others in races like this, and it was 9/1 chance Al Husn (Roger Varian/Jim Crowley) who landed the spoils in an incident-packed contest, thereby giving Crowley and owner Sheikha Hissa Hamdan their second Group 1 winner in a matter of days, and eased the pain of the winning rider’s controversial riding ban.
Al Husn was always well placed behind the steady early pace and was best placed to challenge Above The Curve (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) as her main rivals suffered in different ways.
She challenged with a quarter of a mile to go and gradually got the better of the leader to win by half a length, with Nashwa (John and Thady Gosden/Hollie Doyle) the same distance back in third.
Al Husn had already beaten Nashwa this season, but it was generally accepted that the latter wasn’t cherry-ripe in the Hoppings Stakes at Newcastle, since when she had bounced back to her very best to land the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.
The assumption that she would reverse form didn’t factor in the real possibility that Al Husn herself might improve for that race.
Day to forget
It’s possible that tactics also played a part in the form reversal, and tactics certainly decided the fate of Blue Rose Cen, on whom Aurelien Lemaitre had a day to forget. Above The Curve set a steady pace under Ryan Moore, with the favourite pocketed on his inside, and Nashwa typically held up in last, and when Moore reached the cutaway, Lemaitre on Blue Rose Cen made a bid to overtake on the inside rail, only for Above The Curve to quicken at the same point and give the French challenger nowhere to go.
Meanwhile, the belated quickening of the pace left Nashwa further out of her ground than ideal, and although she ran on strongly, she could ger no closer than third.
Al Husn has entries in the Prix Jean Romanet at Deaville and the Yorkshire Oaks later in the month, with Varian looking at the Prix de L’Opera at Longchamp and perhaps a trip to the Breeders’ Cup for the Filly and Mare Turf in the longer term.
Varian said: “Al Husn is a remarkable filly. I think she has won seven of her last eight now. The truth is none of us really knew how good she was, because she is one of those who just beats what is in front of her and is never particularly flashy. She has such an admirable attitude. We thought we would come here and run very well, but I am obviously delighted, and delighted Sheikha Hissa is here. To have a Group 1 for her and with a homebred filly like this, it’s fantastic.
“The Nassau is one of the magical races for fillies to win. It will be forever in her stud book and hopefully when she’s done racing, she can go to the farm and be a great mare for them. It is very special for us – we went very close a couple of years ago so it’s nice to go one better today.”
VANDEEK (Ed and Simon Crisford/Andrea Atzeni) maintained his unbeaten record with an impressive success in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes.
Green when winning on soft ground at Nottingham on debut, the son of Havana Grey showed the anticipated improvement from that run to outclass his rivals in a race ravaged by withdrawals after Wednesday’s rain.
Always travelling strongly, Vandeek quickened on demand to run out a comfortable length winner over the fast-finishing outsider Ballymount Boy (Adrian Keatley/Jason Hart), with the pair five lengths of July Stakes third Toca Madera (Brian Meehan/Sean Levey) in third.
An expensive breeze-up buy at 625,000 gns, Vandeek was well supported for both of his starts, and despite blowing the start badly at Nottingham, has maintained his perfect record while looking to have plenty of untapped potential.
Asked about the pressure of training such an expensive purchase, Simon Crisford said: “It is nerve-wracking because you don’t want to miss your lines as he nearly did at Nottingham.
“It makes you think twice about your campaign, but I think with a horse like that having won the way he did at Nottingham, he had to go and do something better.
“I think there’s tonnes of room for improvement to come. We will head to the Prix Morny on August 20th. Obviously, that’s dependent on Shaikh Khalid’s wishes, but he likes to be bold and brave, and I am sure he would very much like us to go for the Group 1 in Deauville.”
HE will go into the record books as the horse to give King Charles III his first winner at Royal Ascot, but there may be bigger headlines for Desert Hero (William Haggas/Tom Marquand), who followed up that win in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes, sparking thoughts of a possible classic win, with the St Leger firmly on the horizon for the son of Sea The Stars.
Desert Hero - sent off at 7/1 - was held up at the back of the field as Chesspiece dictated terms, and Marquand gave him a confident ride to cut through the field in the latter stages, challenging the leader on the inside after the cutaway and showing a good turn of foot to get the better of the rallying Chesspiece (Ed and Simon Crisford/James Doyle) by a neck, with Canberra Legend (James Ferguson/Danny Muscutt) three lengths further back in third.
Aidan O’Brien’s race favourite Espionage got worked up in the preliminaries, and even more so in the stalls, running no race, and whatever was the matter, this run should be ignored in the broader scheme of things.
Further
Asked about the possibility of a bid for classic glory at Doncaster, Maureen Haggas replied: “Yes, Desert Hero could go further. The obvious aim would be the St Leger, I suppose; I think, with all these things, you never really know until you try, but there’s no reason not to try, is there?”
THERE is nothing to get an English racing crown purring quite like a Roal winner at a big festival, and despite the absence of the serving monarch, there was a hugely enthusiastic reception for Desert Hero after his win in the Gordon Stakes for William Haggas and Tom Marquand.
Once again, Marquand shone in the saddle under diametrically opposite tactics to those he’d employed in the Goodwood Cup.
Stepping up to pattern company for the first time after his handicap win at Royal Ascot, Marquand put Desert King to sleep at the back of the field, and the sometimes keen son of Sea The Stars gradually warmed to his task, looking a different horse to the one who appeared not to stay a mile and a quarter in the London Gold Cup at Newbury.
That is a credit to both trainer and jockey, and to think he might be a leading fancy for the St Leger given how he’d shaped at Newbury is now remarkable.
You don’t need to be a Royalist to realise how important it is that King Charles continues the Royal association with racing in the manner his mother did, and having horses like Desert Hero can only help in that regard.
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