Equinties - Glorious Goodwood Friday

Gm Equinauts

Well, we got our wish!tps://x.com/equinties/status/1950910189302861877

It stopped raining yesterday and Goodwood drains very well, so there could be a case of it drying to good to soft today, but…

big but if it stays soft you will NOT go wrong with our newsletter today.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

NOAH’S ARK

Biblical rain, lighting threats, dripping wet trainers (yes, you heard that correct), and awful flag starts - it was just another day at Glorious Goodwood!

WHIRL was the standout performance of yesterday, and we have plenty to talk about, but we just want to cover the start of yesterday’s Group 1 Nassau Stakes.

Firstly, we don’t envy the starter in this situation. The horses were on their toes because of thunder and potential lighting, the rain probably didn’t help as well, and he was asking them to go under a flag start even though the horses have been trained to start from stalls their whole lives. Tough gig when that’s what the new but unpopular protocol is when there is risk to life.

But still, the rules need to change because a flag start in the Gordon Stakes was pretty laughable. It’s laughable in a novice at Windsor too. We can’t believe we’ve had two big bets in flag start races in a week!

Ryan Moore said he had won the Nassau after two strides. For this to be happening in a Group 1 is pretty poor.

Despite the clear advantage that WHIRL had from the flag fall, she still had to win the Group 1 Nassau Stakes. That may sound daft, but she wasn’t home and hosed immediately. She bucked out from the front, so she was there to be shot at, and for a few strides, it did look like SEE THE FIRE was travelling much the best, however, we all soon realised that Ryan Moore had fired WHIRL into top gear, and eventually, nothing could keep with her gallop. It was a nice and predicable performance.

Because of her form with KALPANA and MINNIE HAUK, it’s easy to get a gauge on her level, and in the context of fillies this season, she is right up there. However, with a horse like this, talk about her taking on the boys in races like the Arc was always going to crop up, and even with Aidan O’Brien’s strong current side for Longchamp, WHIRL makes it into his calculations.

He said: “She's been coming along in the shadows and nothing seems to bother her. She's hardy and keeps turning up. She's pretty unusual and has an unbelievable mind. She didn't even know she'd had a race.

“In the spring when the fillies were working, we sent them all up the gallops and who do you think came out in front? Her. And that was in the spring. She's an absolute dream. She gets a mile and a half, handles all types of ground and Ryan gave her a lovely ride.

"Minnie Hauk is going to York at the moment so this filly wouldn't go. Whirl is straightforward. Soft or heavy ground doesn't bother her. She could go to the Arc but she'll have so many options. She'll have a couple of easy weeks now and then we'll decide."

It seems then that WHIRL will miss the Yorkshire Oaks because of MINNIE HAUK. That’s a shame, but understandable. Races like the Prix Vermeille and even the Irish Champion Stakes could be for her ahead of a trip to Longchamp in October.

We’d say that she is probably better than MINNIE HAUK, and if these two were to meet again, WHIRL should be the one to get on top. But, whether she is an Arc filly that can take on the boys over 1m4f is still an unknown. Ultimately, if you like KALPANA, the ante-post favourite for the Arc, you have to like WHIRL. She probably would be a bit more at home over 1m4f as she is a persistent galloper, so that is something that could improve her from yesterday.

All in all, O’Brien has some lovely, but difficult, decisions to make.

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