Snow Fairy stars in top class entry for Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes

Snow Fairy in action at Leopardstown last year where she won the Irish Champion Stakes. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

A host of Group 1-winning fillies and mares feature among 34 entries for this year’s £200,000 Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes, run over just shy of 10 furlongs on the fifth and final day of Glorious Goodwood, Saturday 3 August.

The Fugue posted a comfortable length victory in last year’s contest, the fifth Fillies & Mares race in the QIPCO British Champions Series, 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, 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 1 victory when beating Nathaniel and St Nicholas Abbey in the Irish Champion Stakes on her latest appearance at Leopardstown, Ireland, last 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 1000 Guineas with a scintillating four-length victory in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot before tasting a controversial defeat in the Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes last Friday on Newmarket’s July Course.

Just The Judge, successful in the Irish 1000 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 1 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 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, Ireland, on 30 June.

Varian has also given an entry to South African import Dancewiththedevil, who notched five Grade 1 wins in her native country.

The seven-year-old was eighth on her debut for her new trainer in the Group 2 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 1 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.

The five-day Glorious Goodwood festival this year runs from Tuesday 30 July until Saturday 3 August and is certain to be one of the highlights of the season.

It is the perfect place to enjoy everything that is British and sums up what summer should be. 

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 one of the world’s most beautiful racecourses, 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.

For tickets please visit: www.goodwood.co.uk