Emily Upjohn is better than any recent Nassau winner - but a strong group of three-year-olds won't make it easy

The Nassau Stakes is Britain’s best fillies-only race over 1m2f, yet it has been a long time since a truly top-class winner emerged.

The brilliant Midday recorded Racing Post Ratings of 121, 124 and 121 when stringing together a Nassau hat-trick from 2009 to 2011, but in the 12 subsequent runnings the two winning RPR poles sit at 116 and 119.

Perhaps that is indicative of the fact fillies of the highest calibre often avoid races like the Nassau for more ambitious, non-sex-restricted targets. Emily Upjohn was one such example up until last month’s Pretty Polly Stakes.