Hollie Doyle hails 'horse of a lifetime' Nashwa after awesome Nassau win

Thursday: Qatar Nassau Stakes, Goodwood

Tame recent displays from Tuesday and Emily Upjohn might have threatened to turn what looked a red-hot Oaks last month into a run-of-mill running, but Epsom third Nashwa is doing her bit to uphold the form and, under a brave and intelligent Hollie Doyle ride, captured her second successive Group 1 in the Qatar Nassau Stakes.

Bred by owner Imad Alsagar, Nashwa was – in the mould of a John and Thady Gosden horse – a typically slow-burning juvenile filly who ran just once last year, but fluent victories at Haydock and Newbury in the spring were enough to persuade connections to have a crack at the Classic.

Many predicted the daughter of Frankel boasted the raw ability of anything else in the field but might lack the staying power of some, and that proved the case as she kept on but was no match for Tuesday or stablemate Emily Upjohn.

Dropped back to 1m2½f for the French equivalent, the Prix de Diane, Nashwa recorded a history-making triumph for Doyle, but the circumstances were much different.

Hollie Doyle: 'It was pretty awesome and she gave me some feel'Credit: Edward Whitaker

At Chantilly, Doyle and her willing partner sat handy and stayed on determinedly, but there was a pull as soon as the stalls opened here and the rider was happy to take a lead from her seven rivals.

"It was a change of tactics today, but I know she can win being ridden like that," said Doyle, whose Diane victory made her the first British female jockey to score a Classic success.

"They steadied the pace up today, which was a bit worrying for me from where I was, but she's got a high-cruising speed and, like I say, push button.

"The boss, Mr [John] Gosden, just told me to ride her like that – to ride her like the best horse in the race and thankfully she was and it paid off."

The £340,260 first prize was probably the last thing on Doyle's mind as Nashwa flashed by the winning post, pulling a length and three-quarters clear of 40-1 outsider Aristia with Lilac Road back in third.

Nashwa pulls clear of her rivals in the closing stagesCredit: Edward Whitaker

She is mindful she has a gifted filly who will be her mount for the rest of this term, when targets are set to include the Prix de l'Opera and Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf, while a reunion is also likely to occur in 2023.

Alsagar, who in partnership with Saleh Al Homaizi is on the Derby honours board thanks to Authorized, said: "Nashwa is a homebred and I must admit I'm very emotional when it comes to her. She is my first Classic homebred and I'm very proud of her."

He was equally proud of Doyle, whom he employs to sport his dark emerald silks on the track.

"What I saw in Hollie is what she demonstrated today, but two years ago," he stressed.

"Hollie is a gifted jockey, very intelligent and very dedicated. She has proved that today. I've said that gender should have nothing to do with it. Either you have it or you don't."

The modest, down-to-earth Doyle certainly does have it and even allowed a small grin to creep across her face in the post-race media debrief, but Nashwa also has 'it', and the 25-year-old is in full agreement.

"It's pretty awesome," she added. "She gave me some feel, it's unreal. Nashwa is a horse of a lifetime, and if it wasn't for Imad for giving me this opportunity, I might not have enjoyed days like this."

Gosden has enjoyed many days like this and was winning his fifth Nassau.

"I slightly overdid the settling instructions, but she had the class to pick it up and win well," he said. "I would like to see her off a better pace, I think she would have won easier.

"We tried over a mile and a half at Epsom and she didn't quite get the trip. She's won the Diane and the Nassau so you can never ask for more from a filly. She has got the frame to improve again in the autumn and next year."

Asked if he was worried the three-year-old middle-distance fillies might not be as good as they seemed in the spring, Gosden replied: "No. Emily Upjohn pulled like a train in the King George and Tuesday didn't look right in the Irish Derby. I think they are better than they are showing and this filly hasn't done much wrong since the Oaks, has she?"

She certainly has not.

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