Nashwa edging towards belated return to racecourse action with Group 1 options under consideration

Triple Group 1 winner Nashwa continued her preparation for a return to the track when working in Newmarket on Wednesday morning but a firm plan for the autumn has yet to be devised.

Successful in the Prix de Diane and Nassau Stakes at three and a runaway winner in last year's Falmouth Stakes, the five-year-old has not been seen in competitive action since finishing ninth in the Dubai Turf at Meydan in March but is gradually closing in on her racecourse comeback. 

Owned and bred by Imad Al Sagar and trained by John and Thady Gosden, Nashwa holds top-level entries in the Prix de l'Opera, Sun Chariot, Queen Elizabeth II and the Qipco Champion Stakes in October but connections are reluctant to commit to a definitive target at this juncture. 

"She's progressing and worked nicely this morning on the Limekilns," said Al Sagar's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe on Wednesday. "She's taken some time to come to herself since Dubai and we've given her every chance.      

"She's on the worklist regularly now but she takes a bit of getting ready for a race and I'm hesitant [to make a firm plan]. She's in the Opera, Sun Chariot and the Champions Day races and those are the sort of targets, but we haven't yet got to a position where we can say, 'We really need to go to this race'. 

Nashwa: winning the Nassau Stakes in 2022Credit: Edward Whitaker

"She's a very important filly to Imad and his stud at Blue Diamond, so we're all conscious of that. We want to try and get her right if we can, but we're not quite there yet."

The Sun Chariot on October 5 comes first and Grimthorpe said the fact the Gosdens are also lining six-time Group 1 winner Inspiral up for her potential swansong in the same race would have no bearing on plans for Nashwa.

He added: "If you've got that calibre of filly there are only so many races available. There's no way we'd avoid Inspiral, or anyone else for that matter, if we thought that was the right race to run her in. 

"Her next few bits of work are probably going to tell us where we are or where we need to be. We're going to be driven by her. Hopefully we're getting there but you can't hurry these things."

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