Wayne Lordan guided Legatissimo to an easy win in the Group I £600,000 Qatar Nassau Stakes, the feature race on the concluding day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
By Chris Hoover/Chichester, England
David Wachman trained Legatissimo demonstrated an electric change of pace on her way to a facile victory in the Group I £600,000 Qatar Nassau Stakes, which featured the races on the concluding day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at the Goodwood Racecourse yesterday.
The three year old bay filly had captured the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at the start of the season before going down by a short-head in both the Investec Oaks at Epsom and Group I Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
Legatissimo made no mistake here under Wayne Lordan, who was standing in for the injured Ryan Moore, pulling two and a quarter lengths clear at the line. Wedding Vow was second, with a length and a half back to Arabian Queen in third.
“Legatissimo was very good and Wayne gave her great ride,” said Wachman. “She would have won in another stride the last day and it is great to see her win today,”
“She showed a good turn of foot, just as she did in the Guineas, and I would say anything between a mile and 10 furlongs is ideal for her There are plenty of options for her between now and the end of the year. We could think about taking on the boys but I will have to speak to the owners first.”
Lordan commented: “She is a very high-class filly. She travels and has plenty of speed. When I asked her to quicken, she quickened up well and got to the line, where she put plenty of daylight between them.”
“She has everything. It was misfortune that she lost out by a short-head on two occasions but she got her head and showed that she is back to her best again. I haven’t ridden her much but I have watched all the videos and it’s a bit tricky down the inside, so I was happy with my draw. I got a lovely run into the race and she quickened up well. I rode this filly early on in her career and I knew that Ryan Moore was coming in to ride the all the Coolmore horses, which was perfect. Unfortunately, he is out with injury but I was only delighted to get back onto her.”
Winning owner Michael Tabor, whose colours were also carried by Wedding Vow, said: “She is very good and she showed her true worth today, which we always thought she had. I think she has been a bit unlucky this year.
“I didn’t really mind which filly won although, having said that, I would have preferred this filly to win - I think she deserves it. I like to think the well-bred fillies can do the trick. If you give David the right animal, he will produce them. He is a very good trainer in his own right and I think that he has got a great future.”
