Visit Qatar Nassau Stakes

Group 1, Goodwood 15:05
£600,000 guaranteed,
Fillies & Mares, 3yo plus,
1m 1f 197y, Class 1   
Thursday 31st July 2025

SureWIn

1 Whirl 6/5F
2 Cercene 11/1
3 See The Fire 5/2
5 ran Distances: 5l, 1¼l, 2l
Time: 2m 8.43s (slow by 3.23s)

It was Whirl by name and whirlwind by nature as Aidan O’Brien’s fast-improving filly scorched the Goodwood turf with a five-length demolition job, leaving no room for argument about her standing among the top three-year-old fillies in training.

From the moment the flag dropped — no stalls in play due to testing underfoot conditions — Ryan Moore was decisive. Keen to seize the initiative aboard the G1 Pretty Polly heroine, he sent the daughter of Wootton Bassett straight into the lead and never saw another rival.

Drifting across to the stands’ side rail as Moore dictated the tempo, Whirl gradually cranked up the gears from the three-furlong pole. With a flick of the reins, she slipped the field — length by length she drew clear, rubberstamping her class in a performance that married power with poise.

Behind her, Coronation Stakes winner Cercene stayed on stoutly for second on her first try at ten furlongs, proving her courage in the ground if not quite the class of the winner. See The Fire, third in the Prince of Wales’s, filled that very spot again, unable to match the front pair in conditions that clearly blunted her turn of foot.

“She’s just a racing machine,” beamed O’Brien post-race, echoing the phrase he'd used before. “She gets a mile and a half, she handles any ground, she’s homebred, and she’s honest as the day is long. Ryan gave her a lovely, uncomplicated ride — when he committed, everyone else had to play catch-up.”

With York and the Arc trials both in the picture, O’Brien acknowledged the rare versatility at his fingertips. “She has so many options and is so straightforward — she could do anything,” he said, before drawing comparisons to her Oaks conqueror, Minnie Hauk. “That filly’s a high cruiser, but what this one does is just keep coming. What happens when they meet again? That’ll be something to see.”

Moore was typically understated in the saddle and on the microphone: “She does what she says she’ll do, nothing flashy, just effective. Stays well, handles any ground — she's so uncomplicated. It wasn't much of a race visually, but she was excellent.”

For runner-up Cercene, it was a gallant effort in unfamiliar conditions. Trainer Joseph Murphy praised her tenacity: “She was wheel-spinning, really. She’s a filly who needs good ground, but she toughed it out. We’ll look at dropping back to a mile for the Matron.”

Gary Carroll, back in familiar pony-racing territory with the flag start, echoed those thoughts: “From four out, I knew she wasn’t handling it — but she’s so genuine. She got the trip, but her class pulled her through. Very proud of her.”

And Andrew Balding, ever measured with See The Fire, gave credit where it was due: “The ground wasn’t ideal, but it probably didn’t make the difference. She’s come out of it well — York’s International is next.”

But the day belonged to Whirl — relentless, ruthless, and revelatory. On a day where footing failed many, she danced through the mud like a horse destined for even bigger stages.

Qatar Nassau Stakes
(British Champions Series)
£600,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 1f 197y, Class 1
5 ran
Going: Heavy

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (4)    Whirl 3 9-0 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 6/5F
2 (5) 5 Cercene 3 9-0 Joseph G Murphy Gary Carroll 11/1
3 (2) 1¼ See The Fire 4 9-9 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy 5/2
4 (3) 2 Bedtime Story 3 9-0 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 9/2
5 (1) 16 Running Lion 5 9-9 John & Thady Gosden William Buick 17/2

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