Wednesday's action at Goodwood had the look and feel of a day at the races in January at some points, and Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) would be an apt winner of the feature G1 Qatar Nassau S. on what will hopefully be a more customary summery experience on Thursday. How she will handle desperate conditions is an unknown, but she looked high-class on yielding when running away with the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas on her penultimate start on May 28 and has a rare air of dynamism about her. Her two victories in the May 7 G1 1000 Guineas and June 23 G1 Coronation S. either side of that Curragh romp came on a fast surface and were marked by the same ruthless superiority, but she is out of a fast mare and the 10 furlongs have to be a question mark. “It's her first time over a mile and a quarter, but she is in good form,” Aidan O'Brien said. “We always thought she was a very high-class filly. From the first time she ran she has progressed with every run. You can never be sure that she will get the mile and a quarter, but she is by Galileo, which is obviously a big help.”
Despite the withdrawals of the recent G1 Pretty Polly S. winner Nezwaah (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), and last year's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and 'TDN Rising Star' Shutter Speed (GB) (Dansili {GB}) due to the torrent that hit Goodwood on Wednesday, there is still a real quality to the opposition which includes Lord Lloyd-Webber's G3 Musidora S. winner and G1 Prix de l'Opera third So Mi Dar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Not seen since that Arc day contest at Chantilly, the homebred was withdrawn from York's G2 Middleton S. when the ground got wet. First and fourth in that May 18 event were Barbara Keller's Blond Me (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) and Cheveley Park Stud's Queen's Trust (GB) (Dansili {GB}), and there is no doubt that the latter will be compromised by the testing conditions prevalent again here. She showed when taking the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita in November and when two-lengths fourth in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. last time on June 21 how effective she is on a slick surface and if she is allowed to take her chance connections will be relying on her class to pull her through. “She was slowly away from the stalls at Ascot, which is one of her traits, and she did the same last year,” the stud's racing manager Chris Richardson commented. “She got hemmed in when she tried to get a run and was flying at the finish. We definitely felt she could have been a bit closer. You can never take things for granted, but it is the right race for her and she ran well when she finished second in it [behind Minding] last year.”
One who will not be inconvenienced by the softening of the going is Godolphin's 'TDN Rising Star' Sobetsu (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who had the subsequent G3 Prix de Psyche winner Vue Fantastique (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and G2 Ribblesdale S. scorer Coronet (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) well behind when storming to success in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary on soft at Deauville on May 14. “If she can repeat her performance at Deauville, then she won't look out of place in this line-up,” trainer Charlie Appleby commented.
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