Nashwa likely skip Ascot in favour of Pretty Polly mission

Simon Milham
June 6, 2023 3:38 pm

Possibility of a rematch with Above The Curve in the pipeline.

Nashwa looks set to bypass Royal Ascot, with a debut trip to Ireland on the cards for the dual Group One winner.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly enjoyed a remarkable three-year-old campaign, in which she claimed Classic honours in the Prix de Diane and added further Group One riches in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

Brave efforts in defeat in both the Prix de l’Opera and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf followed for the Imad Al Sagar-owned four-year-old.

She’s done it! @HollieDoyle1 and Nashwa are tough winners of the Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines! 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/F7Ys7Kyy0s
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 19, 2022

However, she was beaten on her return to action in the Group Two Prix Corrida at Saint-Cloud, finishing over four lengths behind Above The Curve.

Al Sagar’s racing manager, Teddy Grimthorpe, believes she will miss the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and seek a third top-level prize against her own sex at the Curragh instead.

“She has come out the Prix Corrida fine. She needed it and had a good blow afterwards,” he said.

“Sometimes these older horses do take a little more time to come than we think. It wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, but the main thing is she has come out of it well.”

Though plans are still to be finalised, the daughter of Frankel looks set to go on her travels again, with the possibility of locking horns once more with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Above The Curve over 10 furlongs on July 1.

Grimthorpe added: “The Prince of Wales’s is an option but I would say, at the moment, talking to Imad this morning and to John (Gosden), the preferred option would be the Pretty Polly.

“I hope it might be easier to win! There are going to be other opportunities for her to take on colts, but if I think we can try to get her back on track for the Pretty Polly, I think that would be definitely the preferred option. John and Imad are both happy with that, so I think we will probably aim there.”

Although Nashwa ran well over a mile and a half when placed in last season’s Oaks, she has not subsequently gone beyond an extended 10 furlongs and connections are keen to keep her at similar trips this summer.

Lord Grimthorpe says there are some nice options for Nashwa (Mike Egerton/PA)

“There are some nice problems to have. She is obviously already a dual Group One, Classic-winning filly, so we have to chase those similar big prizes,” added Grimthorpe.

“There is the likes of the Eclipse, the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion, but equally so there’s the Romanet, the Opera and the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at the end of it, so there are quite a few good options for her, mainly over 10 furlongs and everyone seems pretty comfortable with that (trip) at the moment.

“Obviously, these things can change, but I think a mile and a quarter seems to be her best.”