All you need is Love

Audarya was having her first start since providing trainer James Fanshawe with a memorable first Breeders’ Cup success in the Group One Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland in November.

James Fanshawe said: “Audarya has only been doing steady canters since Royal Ascot, but she seems very well.

“The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes was her first run of the year, so you are never totally sure what to expect, and the same applied to Love obviously, but I was just really pleased with her performance and the way she has come out of the race.

“She has a couple of other entries beforehand, but the Qatar Nassau Stakes is a really nice race to aim for. Thanks to the support of Qatar, the prize money is fantastic, and it usually throws up a good clash between the three-year-olds and the older fillies and mares.”

Love was unbeaten in 2020, winning the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Oaks at Epsom, and the Yorkshire Oaks at York, while Audarya provided her Newmarket trainer, James Fanshawe, with a memorable first American Breeders’ Cup success in the Filly & Mare Turf at Keenland last Autumn. 

Other formidable challengers in the race are likely to be the French-trained, Ebaiya, who was second in last weekend’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud – she is expected to make her British debut on the South Downs. Snowfall, Mother Earth, Joan Of Arc, and Empress Josephine also add to the intriguing line-up. 

Outside of the Qatar Nassau Stakes, all attentions will be on Glass Slippers, who renews efforts with speedster Battaash in the King George Qatar Stakes on Friday having finished second to him in the race last year.

One thing’s for certain; there will be star fillies aplenty both on and off the track.