Whirl And Moore Much The Best From Flag Start To Finish In The Nassau

Making the most of the absurd situation of starting a Group One race by flag, Ryan Moore seized an instant advantage on Whirl (Wootton Bassett) in Thursday's Qatar Nassau Stakes and never looked back. With Goodwood's officials unwilling to allow the fillies into the starting stalls due to the persistent threat of thunder, a ragged start saw the 6-5 favourite romp into a clear advantage with See The Fire (Sea The Stars) notably slowly into her stride.

The winner's compatriot Cercene (Australia) looked the most potent threat heading to two out, but her presence only seemed to stir the blood of the Pretty Polly heroine and Oaks runner-up and she responded with a surge to carve out a five-length winning margin with See The Fire 1 1/4 lengths further back.

This renewal was shaped by torrential rain, with near 30 millimetres falling in the preceding minutes, and a shift to heavy was no deterrent to Whirl who had captured The Curragh's G3 Staffordstown Stud Stakes on soft in October and gone so close on good-to-soft at Epsom. Aidan O'Brien is not putting any limits on her at the moment. “She could go to the Arc trials, the Arc and the Breeders' Cup as well,” he said. “In the spring, when the fillies worked it was Whirl who came up in front and although she was disappointing first time she has proved a very good filly since.”

Where her Oaks conqueror Minnie Hauk goes may determine where Whirl ends up, with O'Brien relishing the quandary. “Minnie Hauk is a great traveller and we've seen that cruise at home but not in her races yet–when she followed this filly at Epsom, she was finding it very easy to follow her but you don't know what this filly is either yet and you probably won't know until they meet again,” he said. “We saw what happened at Epsom when Ryan was very confident that he was going to get her, but she just kept coming with him.”

Moore, who is one off the record of Nassau wins now on five, said, “She is very uncomplicated. She has loads of ability, stays well, handles quick ground, handles slow ground. Aidan called her 'a racing machine' the last day. He keeps getting these horses to do different things and this filly keeps progressing. It is a shame it was the spectacle it was, but she won it very well.”

Cercene's trainer Joseph Murphy said, “We are delighted with the filly. Gary [Carroll] said she was wheel-spinning in the ground. He said on better ground she would have run a great race. We know she needs good to good-to-firm ground. It was her courage which got her through. She got the trip no problem, but I think we will go back to a mile for the Matron Stakes and hope the ground is good.”

Andrew Balding said of See The Fire, “Conditions weren't ideal obviously, but who is to say we would have beaten the winner anyway? See The Fire didn't have a terribly hard time and seemed okay afterwards. We will kick on to York for the International Stakes.”

A filly ON A ROLL

bags a second Group 1 as she runs away with the @Qatar_Racing Nassau Stakes.@WorldPool | @Goodwood_Races pic.twitter.com/q1jOrzTteB

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 31, 2025

Pedigree Notes
Whirl (Wootton Bassett), who is one of her sire's ever-growing tally of 15 Group One winners, is the
first foal out of Salsa (Galileo) who is a full-sister to the 1,000 Guineas and Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Hermosa, the G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes and G1 Matron Stakes heroine Hydrangea and the G1 Ranvet Stakes hero The United States.

Hydrangea has produced Dubawi's Wingspan, who was second in last year's British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes, and Officer who captured this term's Listed Tetrarch Stakes, while Hermosa is the dam of the G3 Hampton Court winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Trinity College also by Dubawi. From the family of the G2 Prix Robert Papin-winning sire Zipping and the leading sire Last Tycoon, Salsa has a two-year-old full-brother to the winner named Kepler and an unnamed yearling full-sister. Her filly foal is by Justify, who she was bred back to for 2026.