Marsha Edges Lady Aurelia in Nunthorpe Upset

Jockey Frankie Dettori raised an arm in celebration after driving Lady Aurelia past the finish in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (G1) Aug. 25 at York, but the jubilation proved premature as the camera found Marsha's closing lunge got her home first.

European champion Lady Aurelia charged right to the front in the five-furlong Nunthorpe, chased by Battaash. But Battaash, reluctant to load for the race, wilted in the final furlong and Lady Aurelia appeared to have a clear course to her fifth stakes win—third at the top level.

It was not to be. Luke Morris had Marsha in full flight near the crown of the course, well wide of Lady Aurelia, and was just up in the final stride to win by a nose. Longshot Cotai Glory was third, 3 3/4 lengths farther behind and 1 1/2 lengths ahead of fourth-place Battaash.

The race went in a relatively quick :57.97 on a course rated as good.

"I'm in shock. I thought I'd won by a neck," Dettori said.

While the result was a tough pill for Lady Aurelia's trainer, Wesley Ward, and owners Stonestreet Stables, George Bolton, and Peter Leidel, and was a small upset at the tote; it was not a total shock.

Marsha, a 4-year-old daughter of Acclamation out of the Marju mare Marlinka, entered the Nunthorpe off a third-place finish in the Qatar King George Stakes (G2) at Goodwood—behind only Bataash and Profitable. Two races before that, she was third in the King's Stand Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot, trailing winner Lady Aurelia by three lengths.

Trained by Sir Mark Prescott for owner/breeder Elite Racing Club, Marsha capped her 3-year-old campaign with a victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp (G1) at Chantilly. Her connections note she has improved as the season has gone on this year.

"That was amazing. Coming here we were happy she was as well as we'd ever had her. She'd never looked better," said Elite Racing Club manager Dan Downie after Marsha won Friday at 8-1 odds. "I didn't know if we'd won, but it's a funny camera angle here. It's fantastic for the club and she's a homebred, too."

Lady Aurelia was a dominant winner in her career bow at Keeneland in the spring of 2016 and Ward immediately unleashed her on Royal Ascot, where she was sent off the 2-1 favorite in the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) and won by seven lengths. 

She parlayed that into her first win at the top level, taking the Prix Morny (G1) at Deauville as she would earn a Cartier Award as Europe's top juvenile filly, the first U.S.-trained horse to earn a Cartier.

The 3-year-old scorecard began as a copy of the previous year with a win at Keeneland and the Royal Ascot victory in the King's Stand. Marsha actually was favored that day, but finished third, behind Lady Aurelia and Profitable.

Ward will now begin to plot Lady Aurelia's course to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar. He was proud of her effort Friday.

"She's a true champion, these things happen. She ran a brilliant race and the other filly ran us down," Ward said. "I think we got beat fair and square. It happens, I'm not going to make excuses. She's run a fantastic race and there were no issues.

"We were just beaten by the hair on my chinny chin chin. Hopefully I will be back another day and we will look towards the Breeders' Cup now."

With the win Friday, Marsha earns a fees-paid spot in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint as the Nunthorpe is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race. While the Nunthorpe was the feature of Day 3 of York's Ebor meeting, it was far from the sole attraction. 

In the Weatherby's Hamilton Lonsdale Cup (G2), Montaly put a nostril in front of Her Majesty's hope, Dartmouth, to land the about two-mile fixture. St Michel was third. Ryan Moore had Dartmouth in front in the final 50 yards after a stalking trip and appeared to have the race in the bag. But Farleigh Racing's Montaly, a 6-year-old son of Yeats trained by Andrew Balding, produced just enough to score his first group stakes win.