Glorious Goodwood: Japanese star Deirdre causes a 20-1 shock in the Nassau Stakes to spoil the Dettori party

IT was easy peasy Japanesey for 20-1 outsider Deirdre in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

Japan's superstar filly scuttled up the rail to foil Frankie Dettori aboard Mehdaayih in a Group 1 stunner.

The early gallop was frantic as old rivals Dettori and Ryan Moore vied for the lead, and it was Moore's mount and the well-backed favourite Hermosa who cracked first at the top of the home straight.

One by one Mehdaayih began to draw the sting from her rivals, but the eye was drawn to Deirdre who crept smoothly into contention hard against the rail.

She eye-balled the long-time leader and left her behind in a matter of strides to win going away, with Rawdaa picking up the pieces late in the day for third.

The significance of the victory was not lost on the winning rider Oisin Murphy, who knows how well-received the result will be in racing-mad Japan.

Murphy said: "I'm just glad they have brought a horse here and it has performed, because I've been saying since I've come back from Japan how they regard their horses and it is fantastic they have won a top-level Group 1 here.

"She is already a Group 1 winner, but it is nice to do it in England. I can't tell you how pleased and thrilled I am for everyone connected.

"I had a lovely draw beside Mehdaayih and Ryan was just on my outside. I would have liked to have sat a bit closer, but I couldn't go (the pace).

"There was no pressure on me, so I rode how I felt from instinct. Thankfully it paid off pretty well and I was able to use that fresh strip of ground.

"You can see she is an absolute queen, she is a big, masculine type of a horse and I'm not surprised she was able to carry the 60 kilos which is more than what she is used to.

"Hopefully we will see more of them coming now. She is by Harbinger, who we know very well – he was a world champion and this is a huge result.

"This is massive, I'm so pleased. I looked at her price, but I convinced myself she had a super chance as she worked brilliantly the other morning."

Seiko Hashida Yoshimura, racing manager to owner Toji Morita, said: "This was a very big challenge here. We all could see she was trying hard at Royal Ascot despite the heavy rain.

"We were just hoping to see the best from her and that was today on this glorious sunny day. Everything was good.

"We are always believing in her, but the other horses in there were great, too. We had some good luck and all the people supporting us as well.

"We were not really sure if Deirdre would like the course, as it is undulating. I'm not sure what the plan is, we have to discuss that.

"She is a daughter of Harbinger and that is the reason we came to Ascot for the first time, but I think many Japanese people will be more interested in racing here and hopefully we can have a good influence on racing."

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