Highly-respected jockey Hollie Doyle has admitted that a win at the Filly & Mare Turf on Nashwa as part of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships would be “a dream come true”.
The three-year-old filly Nashwa has been in fine form in Europe, finishing third in the 2022 Epsom Oaks behind the Aidan O’Brien trained Tuesday ridden by Ryan Moore and the John & Thady Gosden trained Emily Upjohn that was ridden by Frankie Dettori. Doyle would have been disappointed not to become the first female rider to win a British classic.
However, she tasted victory in the French equivalent at Chantilly, earning her first Classic win. The youngster also won at Glorious Goodwood in the Nassau Stakes and narrowly missed out on a third Group One win at the Prix de l’Opera at ParisLongchamp, beaten by Place Du Carrousel.
Speaking to Sky Sports Racing, Hollie Doyle said: “It’s mental to think I’m going out to the Breeders’ Cup and she’ll probably be favourite,”
“It would be a dream come true, but we can’t get carried away until it might happen.
“She’s danced every dance so far in her relatively short career, and she’s proven versatile.”
“To win a French Classic was one of the best days in my career so far,” Doyle added. “She’s been magnificent and the rate she has improved has been incredible. You can’t get much better than her.
“It’s another box that is unticked so we’ll find out a bit more.
“Like John [Gosden] said, the ground is a worry because you never really know what you are going to get, but thankfully Nashwa is proven on all different types of ground so far and hopefully she can take to the sharp track.
“It was heart-breaking because she did everything perfectly well. I got the position because the plan wasn’t to make the running but I felt the fractions I set were ideal.
“Coming down the hill, that stride or two when I just got softened might have cost me. The way she quickened on that heavy ground was unbelievable really, and she ran her heart out.”
Nashwa’s trainer, Gosden Sr admitted that there was still questions over the ground conditions at Keeneland, but backed the horse’s ability to adapt. Saying: “She’s a versatile filly, I think she’ll be fine. It’s a sharper requirement, and it’s a fast run race. If the weather stays dry, we should be alright,” he said.
“She’s only a three-year-old and often these mares at four and five are really street-wise. You’ve to break, you’ve got to get a position, it’s a tight-turning track and there’s nothing big and sweeping about it.
“You hope you get luck in running, but that’s something we’ll find out on the day!
“Obviously, I love the Breeders’ Cup, it’s a wonderful event, and it’s gone from strength to strength.
“We like it when it’s in Santa Anita because we know exactly what we are going to get with the ground and track. You are chancing it with the weather when you have it east or in Kentucky.”
