Whirl powers through Goodwood thunderstorm to ease away with the Nassau Stakes
Aidan O'Brien's rising star made light work of difficult conditions on the third day of the elite festival
Whirl made quick work of torrential conditions at Glorious Goodwood to win the Group One Nassau Stakes (2,000m) in impressive fashion on Wednesday.
Biblical rain, thanks to a heavy thunderstorm, saw racegoers cowering indoors before the race, and the Nassau itself was delayed for 10 minutes with lightning in the area.
None of that – including a flag start due to safety concerns – fazed Aidan O'Brien's $1.7 favourite, who went straight to the lead under Ryan Moore and was never seriously challenged.
A filly ON A ROLL 🟦🟧
𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒍 bags a second Group 1 as she runs away with the @Qatar_Racing Nassau Stakes.@WorldPool | @Goodwood_Races pic.twitter.com/q1jOrzTteB — Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 31, 2025
Moore bagged the coveted stand's rail as he led the field into the straight and powered through the mud to record back-to-back Group One wins, leaving Cercene trailing five lengths behind in second for trainer Joseph Murphy.
The race was billed as a clash between Whirl and the Andrew Balding-trained See The Fire, but that battle never materialised after the latter blew the flag start and could only finish third.
'She's understated – that's just her nature. She's been coming along in the shadows and nothing seems to bother her,' O'Brien told Racing Post.
'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.'
He started in the sunshine but finished in a storm 🌧️
Coventry Stakes 3rd Coppull stays on strongly up the stands' rail to land the G2 Richmond Stakes 🟥⬜️@davidprobert9 | @Qatar_Racing | @Goodwood_Races pic.twitter.com/SGLVwU4Q3o — Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 31, 2025
On the same card, Coppull also braved the conditions for a convincing win in the Group Two Richmond Stakes (1,400m).
Clive Cox's debut winner ran a brilliant race to finish third in the Group Two Coventry Stakes (1,400m) at Royal Ascot and took another step forward to record a facile all-the-way two-length success up the stand's rail.
'I was worried about soft ground because he's got such a beautiful action on a nice surface. He's very quick and did that really well,' Cox told Racing TV.
'I think he's very gifted and he's a proper six-furlong horse so usual plans from here, Middle Park will be the end goal.'
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