Varian weighing up
Goodwood highlight for Ambivalent & Dancewiththedevil
A host of Group
One-winning fillies and mares feature among 34 tremendous entries for this
year's £200,000 Group One Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes, run over just shy of
10 furlongs on the fifth and final day of Glorious Goodwood, Saturday, August
3.
The Fugue posted a comfortable
length victory in last year's race and the John Gosden-trained four-year-old is
on course to defend her crown following a rare below-par run in the
Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on July 6, after which she produced a dirty
scope.
Snow Fairy, runner-up to the
outstanding Midday in 2011, could make her seasonal return in the race for
trainer Ed Dunlop. The dual Classic winner recorded a sixth Group One victory
when beating Nathaniel and St Nicholas Abbey in the Irish Champion Stakes on
her latest appearance at Leopardstown, Ireland, in September.
The Classic crop are well
represented, with 20 three-year-olds entered including the Richard
Hannon-trained Sky Lantern, who followed up success in the QIPCO 1,000
Guineas with a scintillating four-length victory in the Coronation Stakes at
Royal Ascot. She is one of four runners in the Group One Falmouth Stakes at
Newmarket tomorrow.
Just The Judge, successful in the Irish
1,000 Guineas at the Curragh for Charlie Hills, is set to step up in distance
in the Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes, while Talent and Secret
Gesture, both trained by Ralph Beckett,could drop down to a mile and a
quarter after fighting out the finish to the Investec Oaks at the end of May.
Last year's Investec Oaks
heroine Was features among six entries from the stable of Aidan O'Brien,
while Sajjhaa, a dual Group One winner in Dubai earlier this year, could
line up for Godolphin handler Saeed bin Suroor.
The Roger Varian-trained
four-year-old Ambivalent made all of the running to post a half-length
victory over Was in the 10-furlong Group One Pretty Polly Stakes at the
Curragh, Ireland, on June 30.
Varian has also given an
entry to South African import Dancewiththedevil, who notched five Grade
One wins in her native country. The seven-year-old was eighth on her debut for
her new trainer in the Group Two Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on
June 19 - her first outing for more than a year.
Newmarket-based Varian
commented: "Ambivalent and Dancewiththedevil are possible runners at
Goodwood.
"It was great to see
Ambivalent win the Pretty Polly Stakes. I think that she was suited by the
change of tactics and how the race panned out for her - that's not to say that
she needs to be ridden from the front every time, but it certainly paid off for
her at the Curragh.
"She's pretty
versatile between 10 and 12 furlongs and she has also an entry in the Yorkshire
Oaks. She's a good filly and she has shown that she can hold her own in Group
One company.
"I wasn't
disappointed with Dancewiththedevil at Royal Ascot. She took quite a while to
acclimatise and I think that run has really brought her forward considerably. I
would be expecting a much bolder run wherever we decide to go next with her.
"She's a five-time
Grade One winner in South Africa and a real superstar out there."
Chicquita, one of three
French-trained entries, was runner-up in the French Oaks, the Prix de Diane, on
her latest start, while Listed scorers Integral, Alive Alive Oh and
Venus de Milo look certain to make their mark in better company.
About Glorious Goodwood
The five-day festival this
year runs from Tuesday, July 30 until Saturday, August 3 and is certain to be
the highlight of the season. It is the perfect place to enjoy everything that
is British and sums up what summer should be. It is the place to be and be
seen. The fashion is elegant and floaty, Goodwood heritage with a dash of
panache. Ladies and Gentleman dress in the latest fashions and gather shade
from their hats and Panamas.
The meeting, held at the
most beautiful racecourse, has always attracted the very best performers from
the international world of horseracing such as Frankel, who graced the Downs
for the last two years to the delight of racegoers who come from far and wide
to experience the unique atmosphere.
THE
MARKEL INSURANCE NASSAU STAKES
£200,000
Total Prize Fund. Class 1, Group 1, Part of the British Champions Series. 1m 1f
192 yds, 3.15pm, Goodwood, Saturday, August 3, 2011. For three-year-olds and
upwards, fillies and mares only. Weights: 3-y-o 8st 11lb, 4-y-o and upwards 9st
6lb. Entries closed, July 9, entries revealed July 11 (34 entries).
Five-day confirmation & £17,000 supplementary entry stage, Monday, July 29.
Final declarations Thursday, August 1. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys up
and including the racing of Tuesday, July 9. May not include some overseas
form.
Form
Horse Age Owner Trainer
1(1)-153 ALBASHARAH
(USA) 4 Godolphin Saeed bin Suroor
3-11
ALIVE ALIVE OH 3 Sue-Ann Foley Tommy Stack IRE
150-231 AMBIVALENT
(IRE) 4 Ali Saeed Roger Varian
5121-06 AQUATINTA
(GER) 3 Peter Harris Clive Cox
1105
BANOFFEE (IRE) 3 Michael Kerr-Dineen, Lord Hambleden &
Partners Hughie Morrison
5622-04 BEATRICE
AURORE (IRE) 5 Benny Andersson Ed Dunlop
542031
BUNAIRGEAD (IRE) 3 Jackie Bolger Jim Bolger IRE
3-F2
CHICQUITA (IRE) 3 Paul Makin Alain de Royer
Dupre FR
1/6140-0 DANCEWITHTHEDEVIL
(SAF) 7 St John D. Gray Roger Varian
1215-13 DANK
4 James Wigan Sir Michael Stoute
1123-04 HARASIYA
(IRE) 3 H H Aga Khan John Oxx IRE
(1)-10
HOT SNAP 3 Khalid Abdullah Lady Cecil
11 INTEGRAL
3 Cheveley Park Stud Sir Michael Stoute
0-(3)1132
JUST PRETENDING (USA) 3 Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue
Magnier Aidan O'Brien IRE
111-213 JUST
THE JUDGE (IRE) 3 Qatar Racing Limited & Sangster Family Charlie
Hills
4-33622 LADYS
FIRST 4 Helen Steel Richard Fahey
1641-22 MAGICAL
DREAM (IRE) 3 Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith Aidan O'Brien
IRE
2-21312 MOMENT
IN TIME (IRE) 4 Julia Annable David Simcock
53-1340 MOTH
(IRE) 3 Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith Aidan
O'Brien IRE
2210-13 ROMANTICA
4 Khalid Abdullah Andre Fabre FR
2-11114 SAJJHAA
6 Godolphin Saeed bin Suroor
6-21055 SAY
(IRE) 3 Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan O'Brien
IRE
020-412 SCINTILLULA
(IRE) 3 Kirsten Rausing Jim Bolger IRE
21-12
SECRET GESTURE 3 Qatar Racing Ltd & Newsells Park Stud Ralph
Beckett
(6)15-000
SEMAYYEL (IRE) 4 Saeed Manana Clive Brittain
210-211 SKY
LANTERN (IRE) 3 Ben Keswick Richard Hannon
2331/D1- SNOW
FAIRY (IRE) 6 Anamoine Ltd Ed Dunlop
22-4101 SPARKLING
BEAM (IRE) 3 George Strawbridge Jonathan Pease FR
3(1)-11
TALENT 3 James Rowsell & Mark Dixon Ralph Beckett
2123-30 THE
FUGUE 4 Lord Lloyd-Webber John Gosden
212-310 THISTLE
BIRD 5 Lady Rothschild Roger Charlton
11 VENUS
DE MILO (IRE) 3 Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith Aidan
O'Brien IRE
4330-42 WAS
(IRE) 4 Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan O'Brien
IRE
12-14
WINSILI 3 Khalid Abdullah John Gosden
34
entries
10
Irish-trained
3 French-trained
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