Fancy Blue steps out against elders in Nassau Stakes at Goodwood

Three-year-old filly Fancy Blue, with the help of a nine-pound weight break, will try to take down a salty bunch of older fillies and mares in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes on Thursday at Goodwood.

Fancy Blue, a Deep Impact filly trained by Donnacha O’Brien, won both her starts at 2 and has gotten her 3-year-old season off to a rousing start with a second-place finish in the Irish 1000 Guineas and a pace-pressing upset of favored Alpine Star last out in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches, the French 1000 Guineas. Alpine Star sharply won the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and the form of the French race looks solid.

But Thursday, in the 1 1/4-mile Nassau, Fancy Blue meets imposing elders, including Magic Wand, trained by Donnacha O’Brien’s dad, Aidan O’Brien, as well as the Japanese mare, Deirdre, and streaking Nazeef.

Nazeef, from the yard of John Gosden, lost her career debut but has since won six in a row, including a last-start victory in the Falmouth Stakes, her first Group 1, where she beat, among others, her favored stablemate Terebellum. Jim Crowley rides Nazeef for Hamdan al Maktoum, the same pair that won the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday with Mohaather.

Ryan Moore is aboard Fancy Blue, while Frankie Dettori pilots Magic Wand for the first time. Magic Wand has started at 17 different racecourses, from Australia to Hong Kong to Saudi Arabia to America, but this is her first race at Goodwood. She was fourth last out in the Group 1 Eclipse, where Ghaiyyath beat Enable, and takes a step down in class Thursday.

Deirdre, meanwhile, is spending her second summer stabled in England, and her lone European win from four starts last season came in the Nassau, which she captured by 1 1/4 lengths facing a lesser group than populates his renewal.

Post time for the Nassau is 10:15 a.m. Eastern. Live video and wagering is available at DRFBets.com.