Nashwa's new tactics pay off in Group 1 Prix de Diane
Nashwa, who looked for all the world like a hold-up horse best suited to swooping late with one big run, won the Group 1 Prix de Diane on Sunday at Chantilly with a 180-degree shift in tactics.
Ridden along on the front end, either leading or close to it, Nashwa saw off 22-1 outsider La Parisienne to win France’s version of the Oaks by a head. It was the first Group-stakes win for Nashwa and the biggest victory in the career of 25-year-old English jockey Hollie Doyle, who quickly has risen to become one of England’s leading riders. John Gosden, who co-trains Nashwa with his son, Thady, after the race called Doyle “a fabulous rider and a very serious person.”
Nashwa is a fairly serious horse, coming back just 16 days after a good third-place finish in the Oaks at Epsom Downs. That 1 1/2-mile race stretched Nashwa’s distance capabilities, but the 1 5/16-mile Diane suited her.
Nashwa had raced freely winning at Haydock Park in her 3-year-old debut but was taken back to last on the way to an impressive score in the May 14 Fillies Trial Stakes at Newbury and again raced from well behind the leaders at Epsom.
Doyle, however, made no effort to wrangle Nashwa back behind horses after her mount jumped right into the Prix de Diane and was rewarded for the tactical adaptation. Gosden said a forward placement had not been planned, but that he’d instructed Doyle not to take back if Nashwa broke alertly and no rival wanted to show real speed. None did, the Diane went along at a muddling pace, with several fillies volleying for the lead. Doyle said that with a quarter-mile to race she still wasn’t certain what sort of finish her mount would produce, but in the end, Nashwa found just enough to hold La Parisienne at bay.
The top two went well clear of the other 15 runners as Rosacea earned third place while more than 4 1/2 lengths behind La Parisienne. Winning time over a good-to-soft course was 2:06.63 and Nashwa paid $8 on the U.S. tote.
Nashwa is by Frankel out of Princess Loulou, by Pivotal, and is owned by Imad Al Sagar, who employs Doyle as a contract rider. Gosden suggested a summer break is in order for Nashwa while mentioning the Prix de l’Opera this fall at Longchamp as a long-term goal.