Qabala's win in Nell Gwyn Stakes propels her to 1000 Guineas favoritism

The Kentucky-bred Qabala rolled past stablemate Mot Juste in the final furlong of Tuesday’s Group 3 Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket and directly to the top of the future-book for the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas next month.

The 1-2 finish by Qabala and Mot Juste gave trainer Roger Varian a sweep of the exacta in the $78,400 Nell Gwyn Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. The race was the first start of the year for both fillies and the second career start for Qabala.

Ridden by David Egan, Qabala, the 10-3 favorite, broke slowly and stalked the pace for the first half-mile before taking a more prominent position with three furlongs remaining. Mot Juste (7-1) led with a furlong remaining, but could not hold off Qabala, who won by an impressive 1 3/4 lengths.

Angel’s Hideaway, a 9-2 contender, broke slowly but recovered to finish a promising third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths in the field of 11.

Qabala, who races for Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar, won her debut in a maiden race at Newmarket last September.

After Tuesday’s race, British bookmakers quoted Qabala as low as 5-1 for the English 1000 Guineas at a mile at Newmarket on May 5. She is the only filly listed with single-digit odds.

Varian told the press that Mot Juste, a Kentucky-bred by Distorted Humor who won the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes last September, is also a contender for the 1000 Guineas.

By Scat Daddy, Qabala was purchased as a weanling for $300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed sale in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed’s Al Shahania Stud.