The previously unexposed Nakheel capitalised on her weight allowance to fend off the consistent Night Sparkle and secure victory in the Betfred Park Hill Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster.
Trained by Owen Burrows, the three-year-old began the season as a maiden but has steadily improved in Pattern company. After finishing a promising third in the Galtres Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting, she relished the step-up to an additional two furlongs in distance.
Jim Crowley opted to challenge along the inside, a path that had been avoided in the earlier race, but this strategy proved effective for Nakheel. Despite Ryan Moore briefly looking poised for victory on Grateful, the latter faltered as the race demanded stamina. Meanwhile, Nakheel (10-1), fitted with first-time cheekpieces, surged ahead to secure a length-and-a-half win over Night Sparkle.
Burrows commented: "From her run at York, we anticipated that the extra distance and some ease in the ground would benefit her. The cheekpieces seemed to help as well, enhancing her travel and sharpening her up. She’s not at all ungenuine, but the cheekpieces allowed her to travel better and stay sharper. We’ve been aiming for this race as an obvious target, and it worked out well. She came off the bridle slightly turning into the straight, but quickly regained momentum, which indicated there was plenty left in the tank. I was confident she would stay on strongly to the line. We don’t have any specific plans yet, but we’ll discuss future options with Sheikh Ahmed. Personally, I’d love to have her back as a four-year-old. We may not need to rush into anything else this year. She’s still lightly-raced and progressing nicely, so we’ll continue to assess her development."