Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes |
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| Group 3, Newmarket £95,000 guaranteed, 3yo fillies only, 7f, Class 1  |
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1 Azleet 50/1
2
America Queen 9/2
3
Act Of Kindness 9/2
12 ran NR: Silenciosa Distances: nk, 1½l, shd
Time: 1m 25.08s (slow by 1.78s)
Azleet comes out on top in the G3 @Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes for @WilliamsStuart pic.twitter.com/5sIhjIkJEM
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) April 15, 2026
Azleet came from last to first, and not by halves either, to land a 50/1 shock with a performance that unfolded with a touch of theatre and a decisive late flourish.
Twice a winner from seven starts as a juvenile, she arrived here with a solid if unspectacular profile, but this was a different examination altogether. Marco Ghiani’s mount was slowly into stride and anchored towards the rear, her task immediately complicated in a race that rarely waits for the hesitant.
Yet as the tempo lifted and the field began to stretch, she was produced wide on the stands’ side, gathering momentum with each stride. Inside the final furlong she ranged alongside America Queen, and what had looked improbable began to take shape.
In the final 50 yards, Azleet found more. She edged ahead with authority, ultimately asserting by a neck, while Act Of Kindness stayed on for third, representing Godolphin.
The victory brings with it renewed ambition. Azleet holds an entry in the Betfred 1000 Guineas, and her odds have contracted sharply, reflecting both the manner and significance of this performance.
Winning trainer Stuart Williams said: "This was the big thing we came here today to find out was her stamina. Marco has given her a brilliant ride today and settled her in at the back. "She has got a little bit keen at half-way, but she was probably a little bit fresh, but she has come home strong.
“We are keen to have a go at the 1000 Guineas now. She is a high class filly that has won her Group Three now so why not have a go. It is brilliant. I pride myself on doing the best we can with the horses we have got. If there is a race to be won with a horse we will win it.
"To be here on these days like this is great as we don’t get the chance to train these horses very often. To have won that is good enough to win at our home track is brilliant. We have been practising in the stalls at home with this filly as she has been rearing up.
"We ponied her down to try and keep her quiet. There has been a lot of work go into her. It is a special time for me to potentially have a Group One runner at Newmarket. It would be fantastic if we got there. "We came here to see if we should make the entry. The staff at home, Marco, and the lads at home have done a great job in keeping her calm.
“She had a lot to find on the figures, but her last race she ran last year she missed the break by about four lengths, had a terrible run through the race, and got no run at all. She finished the race off really strongly and didn’t get beat far by Spicy Marg, who is quite a good filly.
“That gave us the encouragement to come here. Really planned this from that stage to come here and see if we were good enough to maybe have a shot at the 1000 Guineas. For a yard our size, and with the spending power we have at the sales. We have been lucky as every couple of years we find a Group horse and we have got two at the moment so it is exciting.”
Trainer Richard Hughes said of America Queen: "I felt she stayed seven well there as she came back a bit and was up in the van all the way. It was a real tough, hard run. She will go to France now (for the French 1000 Guineas), and if they go slow, which they normally do, and she gets a good draw you would have to roll the dice.
"I thought it is a gruelling mile here, and I have another filly for that, Rose Ghaiyyath, and we like her a lot. "If there is any chance of this filly getting a mile it will be in France. She is easy as she relaxes. She has run a blinder and she is a pleasure to train. She does nothing, but she tries like hell, and you can’t ask for anymore.”
Charlie Appleby said of third-home Act Of Kindness: “I’m very pleased with her. I have to say pleased, as I know we didn’t win, but I was sat on the fence as people reminded us we hadn’t put her in the Guineas, but I walked away thinking that is why we didn’t put her in the Guineas.
“She is a nice filly, but she is not a Guineas filly yet. I think that will all come a bit too soon for her. She wants stepping up to a mile, and she will definitely come forward for it as she has only just come to hand the last couple of weeks.
"Maybe something like the Michael Seeley as she seemed to take all the prelims well enough and it would be an away day for her at York. She is a nice filly, and if we look after her, she will be a nice filly in the second half of the season. She has has already put a huge amount of value back on herself finishing third there.”
Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes
(Fillies' Group 3)
£95,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 7f, Class 1
12 ran
Going: Good
