Nashwan just one to carry famous Sheikh Hamdan silks to Eclipse victory
‘I have a photograph in the office of him floating to the start that day’.
There is no question that 1989 was the year of Nashwan. Through a glorious spring and summer he won the 2000 Guineas, Derby, Coral-Eclipse and King George – and he remains the only horse to have won all four in the same season. To show the versatility needed to win Group Ones over a mile, 10 furlongs and a mile and a half marked him out as a special talent and the only disappointment was that his career ended with a defeat in the Prix Niel. In being prepared for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe by his trainer Major Dick Hern, he took in the traditional French trial but could only finish third and never ran again. The general consensus is that in Willie Carson having to chase down Opening Verse, the 200-1 pacemaker for Indian Skimmer in the Eclipse that none of the other runners managed to pass, Nashwan put in such a huge effort he never fully recovered. Opening Verse proved no ordinary pacemaker, either, as he went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Mile when switched to America. While Nashwan did win the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes afterwards by a neck from Cacoethes, who was seven lengths behind in the Derby, he was never quite the same.1989 Eclipse Stakes – Nashwan pic.twitter.com/Dm0rkijsNX
— History of Horse Racing (@horsevault) July 5, 2023
Major Dick Hern said of NASHWAN: “Although he had a shorter career than many of the other top horses I have been fortunate to train, I still regard Nashwan as the best”.He remains the only horse to win the 2000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse stakes and ‘King George’ in the same season. pic.twitter.com/JfOEdWzZlo
— Chris (@cmoreton99) April 19, 2022
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