Jwala Shocks in Nunthorpe, Earns BC Berth

Jwala pulled a tremendous 40-1 upset in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (Eng-I) Aug. 23 at York in her top-level debut.

Trainer Roger Cowell before the race said he expected a bold run from Jwala, and the 4-year-old Oasis Dream filly delivered a convincing win over elite sprinters Shea Shea and Sole Power.

After racing prominently throughout as stablemate Spirit Quartz set the pace, Jwala took charge inside the final furlong and dug in to hold back Shea Shea by a half-length, with Sole Power a only nose back in third in the 17-horse field.

Jwala covered the five furlongs in :57.34 under Steve Drowne, emphatically rebounding from a last-place finish in the Betfred King George Stakes (Eng-II) Aug. 2 at Goodwood. Cowell said she hit her head on the starting gate in that race and fractured an eye socket.

In her start prior to that, she won a listed stakes July 13 at York at the Nunthorpe distance for her first stakes victory.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Cowell told Racing Post after the Nunthorpe. "She is a grand filly who has come on leaps and bounds."

Al Quoz Sprint (UAE-I) victor and 3-1 favorite Shea Shea just outfinished 4-1 second favorite Sole Power by a nose to take the runner-up spot. Sole Power, winner of the King's Stand Stakes (Eng-I) in June at Royal Ascot, was seeking a second Nunthorpe win after capturing the 2010 edition at 100-1 odds. That pair made their bids a furlong out, but Jwala was uncatchable.

Jwala improved her record to five wins, four seconds, and a third from 15 career starts for breeder Manor Farm Stud, who campaigns the filly in a partnership. Last September, she finished second to Sole Power in a listed race at Doncaster.

With her win, Jwala earned a starting berth in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) at 6 1/2 furlongs Nov. 2 at Santa Anita Park because the Nunthorpe is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series.

Jockey S.J. Drowne captured the second group I win of his career aboard Jwala. He only recently returned to riding after missing a year with an illness.

Bred in Great Britain, Jwala is out of the winning Indian Ridge mare Kangra Valley, a half sister to group I winner and group-stakes producer Airwave.

Sire Oasis Dream, a 13-year-old son of Green Desert, stands at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket. He has 71 stakes winners and 40 group winners from seven crops racing.

Following a win by The Fugue, a Dansili filly, in the Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-I) Aug. 22, Juddmonte stallions have accounted for two group I wins at this week's prestigious Ebor meeting at York.