Yarmouth 6th October
"Blue Nazare"
What looked to be a relatively quiet Monday afternoon at Yarmouth was lit up by Blue Nazare, who won the Fillies’ Novice Stakes for Charlie Appleby and William Buick in the Godolphin blue. She is a daughter of Dubawi out of Silent Wave, who was also a winner on her debut for Charlie Appleby at Goodwood in 2019. Silent Wave is a half-sister to both Hidden Law and Final Gesture, who were winners over middle distances and given the way that Blue Nazare finished this race, there is every reason to think that her future will lie beyond a mile in time.
The first point to make about this performance is the winning time. Blue Nazare crossed the line in 1:35.23, which was 3.8s faster than the TPD expected time for the grade in these conditions and 1.71s faster than the Class 4 handicap won by Lord Montague (OR77) an hour later. Her early speed was particularly noticeable. Being drawn closest to the stands side rail in stall 9 could have been difficult for an inexperienced filly, but Blue Nazare broke smartly in William Buick’s hands, reaching 30 mph in just 6s (next best Dreamasar 7.0s) to get to the front. At a race average of 24.89 ft, she is a relatively long striding filly and once in front, she got herself into an excellent rhythm before kicking clear to win by 5 lengths. The runner-up, Sprightly Dance, was making her debut for Roger Varian and ran a fine race, travelling towards the rear before running on to finish a clear 2nd ahead of Great Mates, who has now hit the frame in 3 of her 4 starts. They are both nice horses for handicaps down the line, but the time and the speed data, along with the impressive manner of her victory mean that Blue Nazare is the only horse to really take from this race going forwards. Here are my in-running comments;
“Made all. Ears pricked after a fast start, changed legs when skipping over the path but quickened to reassert. Going easily at the 2 furlong pole, went clear under a hands drive with just 1 reminder, pulling away without being fully extended”
Her dam went to Dubai at the end of her first season and it is probably fair to say that she didn’t reach the heights that her debut success might have suggested she could. However, like many of the Godolphin fillies, she found her level when switched to Henri-Alex Pantall in France, winning a conditions race at Deauville under Vincent Cheminaud and ending her season with a 3rd placed finish in the Listed Prix de Bonneval at Chantilly. It’s very early days with Blue Nazare, but the data would suggest that she showed more ability than her dam on her debut and she is a horse to be excited about for next season and beyond.