Nazeef Finds Time to Shine in Sun Chariot Stakes

There will be few weekends where champion trainer John Gosden gets to enjoy the charms of the older woman more than this one, with Nazeef landing her second group 1 for him in the Oct. 3 Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes (G1) at Newmarket and Enable seeking a historic third victory in the Oct. 4 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1).

With Nazeef and Enable being owned by their breeders, the temptation to take them away at the earliest possible opportunity to start their second lives as broodmares are always there.

However, the rewards for remaining in training are also potentially up for grabs, albeit the marked improvement shown by the Invincible Spirit filly this season has been as much a surprise to those closest to her as to anyone watching on.

"She's a tough filly and was in handicaps last year," Gosden said. "She won a handicap at Chelmsford in great style last backend and we decided then with the permission of Sheikh Hamdan to keep her in training to try and win a listed race, which she did immediately in the Snowdrop, before going on to the Duke of Cambridge, then the Falmouth.

"You never expect that you're going to go from Chelmsford handicaps to knocking off two group 1 races at Newmarket, do you? But she's a willing filly and she's quite lazy in her work and looks after herself. She's not one who looks to overdo it, and I think that's a big factor in her progression."

Nazeef's upward trajectory had appeared to stall in recent runs with a third in the Qatar Nassau Stakes (G1) at Goodwood followed by an underwhelming performance in France last time, which Gosden put down to ground conditions at Deauville.

Dropped back in trip at Newmarket, Nazeef travelled powerfully through the race close to the stands' rail and picked up impressively in the closing stages on ground which was officially heavy after persistent rain.

"She's a grand filly, very brave and for Newmarket this is soft and testing by our standards and she asserted well in the last 50 yards," Gosden said. "It's been a fantastic year for her.

"It's entirely up to the owner/breeder (what happens next). He may decide to send her to the breeding sheds, to run her next year, or he may decide to let her run in America or Champions Day, I have no idea."

Whatever Hamdan Al Maktoum and his advisers decide, it is not as black and white as it may once have been and the opportunity to continue training the four-year-old is something Gosden would relish.

"It wasn't Sheikh Hamdan's policy (to keep older fillies in training) as his father had said if you race them too much they don't make great broodmares," Gosden said. "I asked to keep Taghrooda in training but she didn't (stay in training), but he did keep Enbihaar in training and she won him five group 2s. They are a lot of fun, these older race fillies, and they're great fun to be around."