The Nell Gwyn Stakes is the Rowley Mile’s first serious examination of 3-year-old fillies. At 7 furlongs on Good going, it sits between maiden company and the Classic itself. The winner nearly always runs in the 1000 Guineas. Wednesday’s renewal draws 13 runners, and one of them arrives with a profile that stands clearly apart from the rest.
The Race
The Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes is a Group 3 contest for 3-year-old fillies over 7 furlongs on the Rowley Mile. The 2026 running is at 15:35 BST on Wednesday 15 April. Going is Good. All 13 runners carry 9st 2lbs in a level-weights conditions race.
The Form Horse
Beautify, drawn 8, carries Aidan O’Brien’s most powerful ammunition into this race. Ryan Moore rides. As a 2-year-old last season, she won the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes at the Curragh over 6 furlongs in June, then ran second in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh over 7 furlongs in September, posting an RPR of 107.
That figure is in a different bracket from every other runner in this field. The Moyglare is Ireland’s top juvenile fillies race. Second in it, at 7 furlongs, is exactly the form profile that wins Nell Gwyns.
Her final run as a juvenile was 8th in the Group 1 Cheveley Park at Newmarket over 6 furlongs. That was the sharpest test of the season and the RPR of 66 on the day was uncharacteristic. Back to 7 furlongs, her best distance, on a different surface is a different proposition. O’Brien and Moore will have a plan.
The Course Specialist
Mubasimah, drawn 7, has done her best work at Newmarket over this exact trip. Andrew Balding trained her to win a maiden on the Rowley Mile over 7 furlongs in September 2025. She then finished second in the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket over 7 furlongs in October, posting an RPR of 98. Rob Hornby rides.
A filly who placed in a Group 3 at this course and distance as a 2-year-old is precisely the type the Nell Gwyn rewards. She will handle the track and the trip. The question is whether she can close the gap on Beautify.
The Rockfel Form
Awaken (Draw 3), trained by George Boughey with Tom Marquand riding, ran in good company at every stage of her juvenile season. She was 2nd in the Group 3 Albany Stakes at Ascot over 6 furlongs in June (RPR 96), then 4th in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket over 7 furlongs in September (RPR 95). The Rockfel is run over this course and trip.
She did not win the Rockfel but she finished within a Group 2 field over this distance here. That experience counts. Her 9th in the Dick Poole at Salisbury (6f) in between the two runs suggests 6 furlongs may have been the wrong trip. At 7f here she has shown she belongs.
The Dark Horses
John and Thady Gosden saddle Asmeralda (Draw 4) with Oisin Murphy in the plate. Her only run was a 7-furlong novice win on the all-weather at Kempton in December 2025, posting an RPR of 80. The form is modest but the connections are exceptional. Murphy and the Gosden team bring better to the track. She is unexposed on turf.
Charlie Appleby’s Act of Kindness (Draw 2, William Buick) won a 7-furlong maiden at Newmarket in October 2025 on her second start. Godolphin fillies regularly make sharp improvement from maiden wins to Group company. She knows the course.
Harlequin Breeze (Draw 1, Chapple-Hyam/Doyle) placed in a novice at Newmarket over 7 furlongs in November with an RPR of 85. The form is not at the level of the top three but she handles the track.
Race Verdict
Beautify has the form. An RPR of 107 from a Group 1 second at 7 furlongs sets her apart from every other runner in the field. She returns from a winter break to a trip that brought out her best last season, with Ryan Moore in the saddle. The Cheveley Park run is best forgotten.
Mubasimah is the clearest threat. Course-and-distance form in a Group 3 as a 2-year-old, here on the Rowley Mile over 7 furlongs. She does not need conditions to change. She needs a below-par Beautify, or a stronger performance than October’s Group 3.
Awaken and Asmeralda represent the next tier. This is a competitive Group 3 trial but the form hierarchy is reasonably clear at the head of the market.
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