Nassau Surprise As Deirdre Wins for Japan

In the week that Japan lost Deep Impact (Jpn), there was a piece of consolation as the country's Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) swooped late to cause an upset in Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. at Goodwood. Seemingly shy of her best so far this season, Toji Morita's 5-year-old who had captured the 2017 Shuka Sho was 20-1 taking on the Classic generation but had an ideal pace scenario settled towards the rear as the free-running Mehdaayih (GB) (Frankel {GB}) tanked along in front under Frankie Dettori. That rival looked to have all rivals beaten inside the final two furlongs, but as she veered left and tired Oisin Murphy was enjoying a dream run up the rail and rolled by in the last 75 yards for a 1 1/4-length verdict, with the same margin back to Rawdaa (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in third.

Deirdre, who has been based at Jane Chapple-Hyam's Abington Place Stables, was becoming only the second Japanese-trained winner of a group 1 race in this country after Agnes World captured the G1 July Cup 19 years earlier. The owner's racing manager Seiko Hashida Yoshimura, also the daughter of trainer Mitsuru Hashida, was aware of the historic nature of the moment. “That was a special performance. This is very important not only for us, but also for the whole of Japan to come over to Britain and have a big-race winner,” she said. “Today's victory is important for Japan, because it showed that it is not just possible to come here and compete but that it is also possible to win. Hopefully, we can have a good influence on Japanese racing with this win.”

Fourth in the G1 Yushun Himba before landing the Shuka Sho two years ago, Deirdre ran third in the G1 Dubai Turf last March and back in Japan took the G3 Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen S. at Sapporo and G2 Fuchu Himba S. at Tokyo prior to running second in the G1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin in December. Sixth in the Feb. 24 G2 Nakayama Kinen and fourth in the Japanese-dominated latest edition of the Dubai Turf Mar. 30, she met trouble when sixth in the G1 QEII Cup back at Sha Tin Apr. 28 before struggling through the soft ground when sixth in the June 19 G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot.

With Mehdaayih lit up enough to deny the 13-8 favourite Hermosa (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) the lead, Deirdre had only two behind with Murphy playing the waiting game. Ballydoyle's G1 English and Irish 1000 Guineas heroine checked out in the straight, leaving the Gosden filly exposed but there was little happening in behind for a spell and it seemed that Frankie would be bringing up the dozen until the Japanese mare pounded up the fence to enter the equation. For the winning rider, it was a welcome opportunity after his stint in Japan. “I'm just glad they brought the horse here and she performed, as I know the regard in which they hold their horses,” he said. “I had a lovely draw and would have liked to have sat a bit closer, but I couldn't go the pace and as there was no pressure on me I rode her on instinct and it paid off. As a physical, she's an absolute queen and she had worked brilliant last week.”

“It was a very big challenge to come here,” Hashida Yoshimura added. “We have been in Britain for three months and we are so pleased that we kept believing in her. We had a lot of support and this has made this victory possible. It was a gloriously sunny day at Glorious Goodwood and everything just fell right for her. Goodwood is a beautiful racecourse. It is very different to Japanese racecourses which are usually oval-shaped. We were sure that she would like this track and it worked out very well. We could see at Royal Ascot that she was trying very hard. There was heavy rain there and that did not help her chances. A lot of credit has to go to Oisin Murphy. We did not give him any instructions and just decided to let him ride the horse in the way he felt right. He is a brilliant jockey.”

Connections are still pondering the immediate future of the winner. “We have not yet decided if Deirdre will return to Japan or whether she will stay over here,” Yoshimura said. “We will make that decision in the coming days when we sit down and have a chat about what we should do next. She could possibly stay in Europe. Hopefully, everybody at home was watching.”

Mehdaayih's trainer John Gosden was magnanimous in defeat and said, “I know the owners and the filly trains across the road from us at Newmarket, so this is fantastic for international racing and very healthy for our sport. Our filly ran a great race and went probably a little hard early. For a young filly, she in front a long time and got a bit lonely. She's never been in front in her life, so it was a superb performance. Frankie is quite keen to freshen her up and run her in the [G1 Prix de l'] Opera [at ParisLongchamp Oct. 6].”

By the brilliant G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. hero Harbinger, Deirdre is out of a half-sister to four stakes performers including the G3 Elm S. winner Renforcer (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) and the G3 Arlington Cup and G3 Capella S.-winning sire Northern River (Jpn) (Agnes Tachyon {Jpn}). Also a half to the dams of the group-winning Jeune Ecole (Jpn) (Kurofune) and the Tokyo Yushun-winning champion Logi Universe (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}), she is a granddaughter of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, G1 Prix du Moulin and G1 Sussex S.-winning champion Sonic Lady (Nureyev) which links her with Monday's Galway winner Innisfree (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

Thursday, Goodwood, Britain
QATAR NASSAU S.-G1, £600,000, Goodwood, 8-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 9f 197yT, 2:02.93, gd.
1–DEIRDRE (JPN), 133, m, 5, by Harbinger (GB)
1st Dam: Reizend (Jpn), by Special Week (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Soninke (GB), by Machiavellian
3rd Dam: Sonic Lady, by Nureyev
(¥21,000,000 Ylg '15 JRASAL). O-Toji Morita; B-Northern Farm (JPN); T-Mitsuru Hashida; J-Oisin Murphy. £340,260. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Jpn, G1SP-HK & UAE, 25-8-4-3, $4,844,345. *1/2 to Odysseus (Jpn) (Falbrav {Ire}), SP-Jpn, $586,540. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mehdaayih (GB), 125, f, 3, Frankel (GB)">Frankel (GB)–Sayyedati Symphony, by Gone West. O-Emirates Park Pty Ltd; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden. £129,000.
3–Rawdaa (GB), 133, f, 4, Teofilo (Ire)–Lady Lahar (GB), by Fraam (GB). (280,000gns Ylg '16 TATOCT). O-Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah; B-Barry Walters (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £64,560.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 1/4, 2HF. Odds: 20.00, 3.00, 6.00.
Also Ran: Sun Maiden (GB), Just Wonderful, Nyaleti (Ire), Channel (Ire), Maqsad (Fr), Hermosa (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.