John Gosden was happy with what he saw of his two Breeders’ Cup contenders Mishriff and Nashwa on Thursday.
Breeders’ Cup Turf-bound Mishriff was partnered by Frankie Dettori, while Hollie Doyle was on board Nashwa ahead of her engagement in the Filly & Mare Turf.
Mishriff will be having the final start of his globetrotting, money-spinning career, with Dettori in the saddle for the first time since the Champion Stakes two years ago.
Nashwa, meanwhile, has struck up a brilliant partnership with Hollie Doyle, winning the Prix de Diane and the Nassau Stakes this year.
Gosden said: “They’ve travelled well, eaten up and are drinking well and in that sense I couldn’t be more pleased. They were playful on the track this morning, they jogged and then had a solid canter.
“Mishriff is a horse that has suffered from the deep, heavy ground that you get at the end of the year. He tried hard in the Arc, but he couldn’t go on that ground and it will be different here, because we will have fast going which is what he wants.
“Frankie has been in my ear about coming here all year, as he thinks a mile and a half on an easy track will suit the horse.
“I am bit concerned what will happen if he is slowly away, should that happen he could pay the price but he has broken well in his last two starts.
“I thought the one race that got away from him was the Eclipse, where if he’d got the rub of the green he would have won. I was happy with his run in the Irish Champion where he was a little adrift of his field, but look he’s a tough cookie and a five-year-old full horse with a good appetite for the game.
“He loves travelling and he loves new environments, remembering he’s been to Saudi three times.”
Nashwa was most recently just denied in the testing conditions at ParisLongchamp on Arc day, but did little wrong in defeat. Gosden was full of praise for both his filly and her rider.
“I’m also very happy with Nashwa, with whom we made the decision after the Diane to wait and give her a holiday before the Nassau and then a gap to the Opera, in which she ran a good race from a horrible draw,” he said.
“She’s in good form, looks great in her coat and has Hollie on board who is the first lady rider to win a [European] Classic and a very talented horsewoman who reminds me of Julie Krone with that massive determination.
“It’s a big leap for Hollie to come in from Japan, where she is the only female rider, but it just shows us how she can adapt to anything and I’m hoping she can do it here on Saturday.”