Goodwood: Breeders' Cup berth is on the line in Thursday's Nassau

Whirl, winner of the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes, was declared to take on 4-year-old See The Fire on Thursday in the Nassau Stakes (G1) over 1 1/4 miles at Goodwood Racecourse. The winner will gain a guaranteed start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

 

Trained by Aidan O’Brien for Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier, Whirl comes off a 1 1/4-length victory in the Pretty Polly Stakes in June at The Curragh. Her form was significantly boosted last Saturday when runner-up Kalpana finished a length behind Calandagan in the iconic King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot.

 

A daughter of Wootton Bassett, Whirl already showed her talent when beaten a neck in the Epsom Oaks (G1) by stablemate Minnie Hauk. She is up against serious opposition in the form of JC Smith’s See The Fire, who proved herself against the colts when finishing third in a red-hot Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1) at Ascot. She earned her supplementary entry to that contest a month earlier when crossing the line of the Middleton Stakes (G2) at York an astonishing 12 lengths ahead of the field.

 

“She has started this year in fabulous form and was very impressive in the Middleton, winning a Group 2 in easy fashion,” trainer Andrew Balding said of See The Fire. “And then we thought she ran a super race at Ascot against the boys in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

 

“As a 3-year-old we didn’t see the best of her until we got to the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood where she was narrowly beaten. Then she went on and won the Strensall Stakes (G3) against older colts at York”

 

“There is evidence to suggest she is improving all the time, and she certainly looks to have done physically. She is an exciting filly, and hopefully the best is to come.”

 

The race could prove an interesting barometer of how this year’s middle-distance classic generation weigh up against the 4-year-olds.

 

Ballydoyle’s second flag bearer, 3-year-old Bedtime Story, was third in the betting. The daughter of Frankel has not delivered on the promise of her 2-year-old form, which boasted four consecutive wins, including in a Group 2 and 3. But she seemed back to her best last time out when finishing second at Chantilly in the June 15 Prix de Diane (G1) in her first start over the 1 1/4 miles.

 

Shane R. Stafford-owned Cercene, another Irish raider, shocked everyone in June when she stormed home to win the Coronation Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot at 33-1. She is 6-1 to repeat the favor over an extra 2 furlongs this week. 

 

David Howden’s Group 1-winning mare, Running Lion, is the outsider at 25-1 and is the only 5-year-old in the race. She has not found success this season, but her trainers, John & Thady Gosden, have a stellar record in the race, with John racking up four winners in the race and a fifth with son Thady on the license.

 

The going was good ahead of Thursday.