Diamond Necklace And Friendly Soul Clash In Nassau Stakes
Five Fillies Line Up For Nassau Stakes
Diamond Necklace, the unbeaten 3YO filly trained by Aidan O'Brien for owners Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier and Westerberg, has been declared for the Gr.1 Nassau Stakes (run commercially as the Qatar Nassau Stakes) at Goodwood on 30 July 2026, bidding to extend O'Brien's record in the race to a seventh success. She is joined by Friendly Soul, the 5YO mare trained by John and Thady Gosden for owner George Strawbridge, who steps back up to 1m 1f 197y for the first time since finishing third in the Gr.2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2026. Neither filly has previously contested the Nassau Stakes, though fellow declared runner See The Fire was placed in each of the last two runnings without landing the prize. The 3YO daughter of St. Marks Bascilica satisfies both markers after her Chantilly success, and so does Friendly Soul on the back of her Royal Ascot placing, while See The Fire's pattern of top-three finishes has been a hallmark of her recent form in the race. Botagoz, by contrast, arrives with the least extensive race record of the five but the freshest profile, not having been asked a serious question since her Newcastle win.
O'Brien Fields Two in Nassau Chase
The Nassau Stakes is run over 1m 1f 197y at Goodwood, worth £600,000 (US$798,000) in total prize money with £340,260 (US$452,546) to the winner, for 3YO and upward fillies and mares carrying weight-for-age terms of 9st 0lb for three-year-olds and 9st 9lb for four-year-olds and upward. Five fillies and mares were declared for the race on 30 July 2026: Diamond Necklace and Moments Of Joy for Aidan O'Brien, Friendly Soul for John and Thady Gosden, See The Fire for Andrew Balding, and Botagoz for Roger Varian. The field was cut from the 27 entries confirmed on 24 July 2026 to the five contesting the 30 July 2026 Ladies' Day feature. Recent renewals of the Nassau Stakes have tended to reward fillies who already carried previous experience at Group One level and who returned to action within roughly six weeks of their last start.
O'Brien Fields Two Runners In Finale
O'Brien has won the Nassau Stakes six times, each with a three-year-old, and Diamond Necklace's profile fits that pattern after a campaign that has yet to see her beaten. She carries the highest Racing Post Rating (RPR) in the field on 122 and is partnered by Ryan Moore, having won her last four starts including a hard-fought success in the Prix de Diane at Chantilly on 14 June 2026. The Prix de Diane victory was a narrower affair than her earlier wins, and the step back to 1m 1f 197y at Goodwood will show whether that was a blip or a true test of her stamina. O'Brien's second string, Moments Of Joy, ridden by Wayne Lordan, arrives with considerably more modest recent form but gives the trainer two runners in the finale of the fillies' and mares' Group One programme at the 2026 meeting.
Friendly Soul, partnered by William Buick, races in the same silks with which George Strawbridge has long supported the Gosden stable, and her run to third in the Gr.2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot on 17 June 2026 is the form that connections will point to as evidence she retains untapped potential back up in trip. See The Fire, ridden by Oisin Murphy for Andrew Balding, was third behind Whirl in the 2025 Nassau Stakes having also finished runner-up in the 2024 renewal, and she returns with winning form over the distance already on her card, giving her claims that rest as much on proven big-race temperament as on the ratings alone.
Botagoz Adds Fresh Danger To Field
Botagoz, the 3YO filly trained by Roger Varian and partnered by Ray Dawson, adds fresh interest to a compact field after a Newcastle victory that has since been franked by the runner-up, Dancing Rain, following up with a win of her own. Botagoz arrives without the deep Group race experience of some of her rivals but with the kind of improving profile that has troubled better-fancied fields before, and she takes her chance in only her fourth career start, offering the least battle-tested profile in a field otherwise built on proven big-race form.
With the field settled at five, a seventh Nassau Stakes success would still leave O'Brien one shy of the record eight held by Sir Henry Cecil, underlining the scale of the task Diamond Necklace faces even as the clear form pick. Friendly Soul and See The Fire carry the proven course and Group One form to trouble her, while Botagoz remains the field's unexposed alternative heading into the 30 July 2026 Ladies' Day feature.
NASSAU STAKES (GR.1)
18:35 GST (15:35 BST) | Gr.1 (Class 1) | FOR 3yo+ | Thoroughbred | Turf | £600,000 (US$798,000)
Rail Position: NA | Track Condition: Good | Safety Limit: NA | Track Record: NA
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)
NASSAU STAKES (GR.1)
1 Friendly Soul (T: John & Thady Gosden / J: William Buick)
2 See The Fire (T: Andrew Balding / J: Oisin Murphy)
3 Botagoz (T: Roger Varian / J: Ray Dawson)
4 Diamond Necklace (T: Aidan O'Brien / J: Ryan Moore)
5 Moments Of Joy (T: Aidan O'Brien / J: Wayne Lordan)