Golden Mile For Nannina

Jimmy Fortune brought Nannina with a late lunge to seal Group One success in the Meon Valley Stud Fillies´ Mile at Newmarket.

For most of the final stages, the 5-1 winner looked likely be denied by Fortune´s old pal Kieren Fallon aboard Alexandrova.

But the John Gosden-trained winner dug deep to prevail by a short head with Nasheej, the 5-2 favourite, a further three lengths back in third.

Fortune settled the winner, bred and owned by the Cheveley Park Stud out of first-season sire Medicean, towards the back of the field as Nasheej and Cross Channel cut out the early pace.

Fallon manoeuvred Alexandrova to sit upsides the hard-ridden Nasheej and looked to have launched a winning move when he kicked on two furlongs out, in the process managing to keep Fortune´s mount in a pocket behind the weakening pacesetters.

But when Fortune switched his mount widest of all, Nannina picked up steadily on the climb to the line to get her head in front after a fine battle between the first two.

Gosden, who had claimed the race last year with Playful Act, paid tribute to the ride given to his winner.

'There was a proper pace, a real test of a mile,' he said. 'Kieren had Jimmy in the box and was holding him in there with legitimate race-riding and he had to wait for him (Fallon) to go.

'When he went, Jimmy said he wasn´t going to try and wriggle through in case he shut the door on him again - he knows what happens when you try to get up Kieren´s inside - so he went round and it was a very wise decision.

'He had the whole last furlong up the hill to go at and she´s a very game and tough filly.

'She´s got up and beat a very good filly, a nice Sadler´s Wells, with the May Hill winner in third, so it´s good form.

'We´ve danced enough dances this season. I see her as a Guineas filly and maybe a mile and a quarter and the Prix Diane Hermes after that.'

Fallon was full of praise for Alexandrova and expects her to develop into a Classic contender.

He said: 'She ran well. I just went a stride too soon on her and I thought I had Jimmy cooked.

'She´s an Oaks filly in the making. She will stay and she´s well balanced.'

Her trainer Aidan O´Brien added: 'That was great. She ran a blinder. She would possibly be a Guineas filly, but hopefully more Oaks I would imagine - she is bred to stay.

'She probably won´t run again this season.'

Nannina can be backed at 20-1 for the 1000 Guineas with Cashmans, Totesport and VC Bet, while Alexandrova is as low as 14-1 with Ladbrokes (16-1 elsewhere) for the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom.

? PA Sport