More Group 1 glory for Sheikh Hamdan at Newmarket racecourse
Nazeef extends winning streak to six races following hard-earned Falmouth Stakes success
Dubai: Nazeef completed a six-race winning streak that began in June last year when the Shadwell-bred daughter of Invincible Spirit won a thrilling renewal of the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes on the second day of Newmarket’s three-day July Meeting on Friday.
Ridden with supreme confidence by former British champion jockey Jim Crowley, who has been in tremendous form this season, Nazeef stayed on best of the six-horse field to win by a neck from Billesdon Brook (Sean Levey) with Godolphin’s Terebellum (Frankie Dettori) a further neck back in third.
Nazeef also continued the run of recent top level successes of her owner, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, following on from Royal Ascot where he was crowned Top Owner for the first time.
It was Sheikh Hamdan’s fifth Group 1 success of the season and 11th win at Pattern race level.
Overall Dubai’s Al Maktoum family have enjoyed a high strike rate in the Falmouth Stakes with Sheikh Hamdan himself having won the race three times in the past with Al Baharthri in 1985, Alshakr in 2000 and Tashawak in 2002.
A winner of the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at the Royal Meeting last month, John Gosden’s filly Nazeef is now a leading contender for the prestigious Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Crowley told Racing TV: “She’s tough as nails and keeps improving with every run. She has a great will to win. She was caught a little flat footed but she stayed on really well.”
Dettori attempted to make all the running aboard Terebellum who appeared to be enjoying the soft ground at Newmarket. But at the two-furlong maker Nazeef loomed large and hit the front see off dual Group scorer Billesdon Brook.
Thady Gosden, assistant to his father John, said: “She’s very gutsy and has had three quick runs on the bounce. She’s always had ability and class and she just thrives on her racing.”
Earlier on the card Dubai businessman Jaber Abdullah’s Zabeel Champion won the Bet 365 Heritage Handicap. The winner was ridden by J P McDonal for Yorkshire based handler Mark Johnston.