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Nashwa wins the Prix de Diane under Hollie Doyle. Photo – Racingfotos

Nashwa entered the history books at Chantilly on Sunday when carrying Hollie Doyle to a brilliant success in the Prix de Diane. Doyle, who was appointed first jockey to Imad Al Sagar in the summer of 2020, made history as the first female rider to win the Classic.

While Imad Al Sagar has tasted Classic success before as the co-owner of Authorized and Araafa, Nashwa is our first homebred winner of a Classic. In fact, in what has been a wonderfully memorable season so far, her dam Princess Loulou is our second Classic producer of the year after Zotilla, dam of the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Mangoustine.

Nashwa had run an excellent race in the Oaks to be third and with the shorter distance of the Diane expected to play to her strengths, she was well fancied. Having broken well, she was always in the front rank and although La Parisienne ranged up as a danger in the final furlong, Nashwa was always doing enough to hold her at bay. The pair pulled well clear of the third Agave.

“I’m on the moon!” Imad Al Sagar told Jour De Galop. “After all these years of breeding, a Classic victory is an indescribable feeling. I’m so proud of this filly and Hollie Doyle.

“We knew, since last year, that she was a filly of great talent. We had no idea how out of the ordinary she would be, but in early September she showed us something. John and Thady Gosden were very patient. In the spring, she began to flower and grow physically. In my opinion, she is still growing. I think she will be even better next year and she will stay in training at 4 years old.

“I left the whole decision to John whether to come here or not. He is the trainer, he knows better than me! And he decided to try the adventure. She is incredibly relaxed, she puts herself in her bubble and relaxes.”

“I don’t have the words to describe how I feel,” Hollie told Jour De Galop. “I can only thank Mr. Al Sagar who gave me this opportunity. I’m only 25 and coming across horses like his, I know it can take a long time!

“If you had told me a few years ago that I would ride such horses in the Classics, I would have laughed! Today is a great day, which will remain in my heart. I thank everyone. Before the race, I had great confidence in my filly.”

John Gosden added: “Hollie Doyle rode perfectly. Nothing went according to our plans. Chantilly is not an easy racecourse for a jockey. We thought there would be fillies from outside to take the lead but if not, we had to stay where Hollie was.

Nashwa with her dam Princess Loulou as a foal. Photo – Racingfotos

“This victory is also that of Imad Al Sagar, who made a winning decision: to bring Nashwa by plane. I had asked him: now, the journey by truck between the United Kingdom and France is extremely complicated, with a lot of administrative procedures and your horse can get stuck. So I asked him if we could take the plane: he said yes and that, I think, played a lot today.

“After the race, I found her incredibly calm and relaxed. We are going to think about it but I think we are going to give her some freshness and a holiday.”

Nashwa was bred at the stud out of Princess Loulou, a daughter of Pivotal who won the Listed Gillies Stakes at Doncaster in our colours. Highly talented on her day, she also ran second in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville.

Nashwa is the third foal out of Princess Loulou and follows the classy Louganini as a winner in Imad Al Sagar’s colours.

Princess Loulou, who hails from the famous Wigan/Pelting family of Braashee, Hadeer and Awzaan, also has a yearling filly by our multiple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight and a colt foal by Dubawi. She is currently in foal to Frankel.