Strong Line-Up For Nell Gwyn

Newmarket's keenly-anticipated Craven meeting gets underway on Tuesday, where the G3 Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn S. is the feature and the seven-furlong 1000 Guineas prep has attracted a field containing more than one realistic contender for the upcoming Classic. Among them is the G3 Albany S. and G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. Illuminate (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who has to give three pounds to all including Susan Magnier's Coolmore (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah's Nathra (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) and Godolphin's First Victory (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Illuminate, who sports the Denford Stud silks, had her favoured fast ground when registering her pattern-race wins at Royal Ascot and at the July meeting here last summer prior to going under by a half length to Lumiere (GB) (Shamardal) when second on slightly easier ground in the G1 Cheveley Park S. staying at six furlongs at this venue in September. Signing off with a sixth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf attempting a mile, the bay will have to post a career-best to defy her extra burden and her trainer Richard Hannon understandably has an eye on the May 1 feature. “She's a nice, neat filly who has done very well over the winter but the ground is important to her,” he said. “The plan is to run her in the 1000 Guineas and the ground is normally pretty quick at Newmarket by then.” Nathra got closest to the current hot Guineas favourite Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) when clear second-best in the G1 Fillies' Mile here in October, having won Newbury's Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises EBF Stallions Fillies' Conditions S. by seven lengths over this trip the previous month. She had Coolmore back in fourth in the Fillies' Mile and the owner's racing manager Bruce Raymond expects a prominent show. “I've seen her work and I think she's fit enough, but she's obviously going to improve,” he explained. “The 1000 Guineas is her target.”

Of Coolmore, a full-sister to two Guineas winners in Gleneagles (Ire) and Marvellous (Ire), who had won The Curragh's G3 C L & M F Weld Park S. over this trip before her Fillies' Mile eclipse, Aidan O'Brien said, “We think she'll stay further and the purpose of going is to see whether we'll go back for the English Guineas. We always thought maybe the Irish Guineas and then step up to a mile and a quarter. Seven furlongs will be tight enough for her, but it will give us a feel.” First Victory, who is unbeaten and a dual course-and-distance scorer with the G3 Oh So Sharp S. in the bag, is also reported to be flourishing by Saeed bin Suroor. “She is doing very well, working well and she is ready to go,” he commented. “It is a good race, but we are hoping to see a good run from her.”