Bacio And Pershaada Set For Nunthorpe Stakes At York

Hernandez Kept For Nunthorpe Stakes

Bacio and Pershaada head a field of 18 for the Gr.1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York Racecourse on 21 August 2026, with Juan Hernandez confirmed to keep the ride on Bacio and Silvestre De Sousa stepping in for Sean Levey aboard Pershaada.

Bacio, a 3YO colt trained by Wesley Ward, arrives on the back of a Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes victory at Royal Ascot. Pershaada, a 2YO filly trained by Richard Hannon and owned by Middleham Park Racing, was supplemented into the race for a fee of £40,000 (US$53,200) after winning the Gr.3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood.

The Gr.1 Nunthorpe Stakes is run over 5f on turf at York, open to horses aged two years and older, and carries a guaranteed purse of £600,000 (US$798,000) split among six placings, with the winner collecting £340,260 (US$452,546). The race was declared Good, with light rain, and drew a field of 18 from a safety limit of 22 runners, with a post time of 18:35 GST (15:35 BST), headlined by Bacio, trained by Wesley Ward, and Pershaada, trained by Richard Hannon.

Wesley Ward has been runner-up in the Nunthorpe twice, with Acapulco in 2015 and Lady Aurelia in 2017, when Frankie Dettori celebrated passing the post only to discover he had been beaten a nose by Marsha. Ward has now turned to Bacio to end that run, confirming Juan Hernandez will keep the ride after his Palace of Holyroodhouse win rather than switching to a Britain-based jockey for the step up in grade.
"It is a race I have been second in twice," Ward said. "It's a very historic race. It is a front-runners' track. He will be in front and hopefully, this time, the whole way. He is certainly as fast as racehorses are, that's for sure."

Bacio's rise from handicap company into elite competition has been deliberate, according to his trainer.
"Is he up to going up to a stakes race?" Ward said. "Well, that is what we are hoping. That's why we are jumping in at the deep end of the pool. He is an extremely talented horse who has only been beaten once and we are looking forward to this race."

Bacio's Palace of Holyroodhouse victory, a 3.8-length success, was recorded in a faster time than the same-day King Charles III Stakes. The colt has already flown from Chicago to Prestwick to base at York ahead of a hoped-for workout on the course, with Hernandez flying in after riding at Del Mar the same weekend.

Hannon Eyes History With Pershaada

Pershaada would become the first juvenile to win the Nunthorpe since Kingsgate Native in 2007 should she prevail.
"Pershaada, I don't know if you have noticed, has been a revelation so far this year," Hannon said. "The plan is to go to the Nunthorpe next Friday. I was extremely pleased with her in the Queen Mary and she compounded that in the Molecomb, which she won very well."

Hannon has already mapped out a route beyond York, regardless of how the sprint plays out on the Knavesmire. "After the Nunthorpe, the Cheveley Park is highly likely, and she will also be entered in the Prix de l'Abbaye," he said. "It all depends on whether she looks as though she is going to get six furlongs, and I think she will."

Middleham Park Racing know what it takes to go close in this race, having finished second in 2022 with The Platinum Queen, who went on to land the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp. Tim Palin, the operation's racing manager, pointed to the value of De Sousa's deputising role in the saddle.
"Silvestre is a former champion jockey and a multiple Group 1 winner who's riding as well as ever," Palin said.

De Sousa is a three-time champion jockey, crowned in 2015, 2017 and 2018, and is chasing a second Nunthorpe success following Winter Power's win in 2021.

Asfoora Bids Farewell At York

Twelve months on from last year's Nunthorpe Stakes, Asfoora returns as the defending champion. The Australian mare, trained by Henry Dwyer and ridden by Oisin Murphy, won the 2025 renewal and added the Gr.1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier that season on her way to being crowned champion sprinter. Connections have confirmed the eight-year-old will make her final career start at York, having finished seventh at Royal Ascot this year before an improved fourth in the Gr.2 King George Stakes at Goodwood.

American Affair heads the older generation with sharper claims than his 6YO gelding status might suggest. Trained by Jim Goldie and ridden by Paul Mulrennan, he is the reigning King Charles III Stakes winner and followed that with victory in the King George Stakes at Goodwood, proving too speedy from the front for Asfoora among others. Jonathan Portman's Rumstar, ridden by Rob Hornby and fifth in this race twelve months ago, is another from that generation with the form to feature, though his trainer has stressed his inconsistency.

French challenger Rayevka, trained by F-H Graffard and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, arrives on the back of two career-best efforts, a strong Gr.3 win at Longchamp before finishing a close second to Mission Central last time out. She has been kept fresh since, and with York's finish offering less assistance to hold-up sprinters than the uphill Ascot straight, she will need to be ridden close to the pace.

The remaining field includes the Godolphin-blue silks of Cover Up, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford and ridden by William Buick, alongside K R Burke's Night Raider, winner of the Gr.2 Temple Stakes for Wathnan Racing, under James Doyle, and Ralph Beckett's Starlust, a former Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner, with Rossa Ryan aboard. Aidan O'Brien is represented by Mission Central, who drops back to the minimum trip having found six furlongs too sharp in the Gr.1 July Cup last time out. Clive Cox's City Walls Stakes-winning Redorange, David Loughnane's Partisan Hero under Tom Marquand and John and Sean Quinn's Jm Jungle, contesting the race for a second successive season, complete a group whose form is linked by last month's Gr.2 Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh, where Cover Up and Partisan Hero fought out the finish. Kevin Ryan's Ain't Nobody, runner-up in last year's renewal, Harry Eustace's Gr.1 Commonwealth Cup winner Time For Sandals and Hugo Palmer's Fitzella complete the field of 18.

The track record at York stands to Battaash, who covered the five furlongs in 55.90 seconds in 2019, breaking a mark set by Dayjur in 1990. That run remains the benchmark against which every subsequent renewal, including this one, continues to be measured on quick ground.
Bacio's front-running style makes him the standard-bearer, Pershaada's bid to emulate Kingsgate Native gives the race its sharpest historical edge, and Asfoora's presence adds a valedictory note. With 18 runners drawn, York's famous five furlongs promise a fitting test of speed, form and farewell.

Nunthorpe Stakes: 18:35 GST (15:35 BST) | Group One, Class 1 | Two years and older | Thoroughbred | Turf | 5f | £600,000 (US$798,000) guaranteed | Track Condition: Good, light rain | Safety Limit: 22 | Track Record: Battaash, 55.90 seconds, 23 August 2019 | Prize Breakdown: 1st £340,260 (US$452,546) | 2nd £129,000 (US$171,570) | 3rd £64,560 (US$85,865) | 4th £32,160 (US$42,773) | 5th £16,140 (US$21,466) | 6th £8,100 (US$10,773)

Nunthorpe Stakes: Ain't Nobody (T: Kevin Ryan / J: NA) | American Affair (T: Jim Goldie / J: Paul Mulrennan) | Cover Up (T: Simon & Ed Crisford / J: William Buick) | Jm Jungle (T: John & Sean Quinn / J: Jason Hart) | Night Raider (T: K R Burke / J: James Doyle) | Partisan Hero (T: David Loughnane / J: Tom Marquand) | Redorange (T: Clive Cox / J: P J McDonald) | Rumstar (T: Jonathan Portman / J: Rob Hornby) | Starlust (T: Ralph Beckett / J: Rossa Ryan) | Bacio (T: Wesley A Ward (USA) / J: Juan Hernandez) | Mission Central (T: A P O'Brien (IRE) / J: NA) | Asfoora (T: Henry Dwyer (AUS) / J: Oisin Murphy) | Azure Angel (T: Edward Bethell / J: Daniel Tudhope) | Heavenly Heather (T: Tracy Waggott / J: Barry McHugh) | Rayevka (T: F-H Graffard (FR) / J: Mickael Barzalona) | Time For Sandals (T: Harry Eustace / J: Kieran Shoemark) | Fitzella (T: Hugo Palmer / J: David Probert) | Pershaada (T: Richard Hannon / J: Silvestre De Sousa)