Persuasive (horse)

Persuasive made her debut in a maiden race over one mile on the synthetic polytrack surface at Kempton Park on 4 November and started a 16/1 outsider. Ridden by Jimmy Fortune, she took the lead two furlongs out and held on to win by a neck from the favourite Secret Sense.[6]

Persuasive began her second season in handicap races, starting with a minor event over one mile at Goodwood Racecourse on 20 May in which she was assigned a weight of 133 pounds. Starting the 10/11 favourite, she took the lead inside the final furlong and won by one and a half lengths despite being eased down by Dettori near the finish.[7] Twelve days later she followed up in a more valuable event on the synthetic track at Chelmsford City Racecourse winning "comfortably" from eight opponents.[8] At Royal Ascot Persuasive, carrying 121 pounds, started 11/4 favourite for the Listed Sandringham Handicap on 15 June, with the best-fancied of her 20 opponents being the Owenstown Stud Stakes winner Anamba and the Queen's filly Diploma. Racing on soft ground, Persuasive went to the front approaching the final furlong and stayed on strongly to win by one and quarter lengths from Diamond Fields.[9] Gosden described the winner as "a lovely filly" while Dettori said "She is improving. On good ground I would have waited a bit longer and used her explosive turn of foot. She can try something bigger now."[10]

On 20 August Persuasive was stepped up in class and started 6/4 favourite for the Group 3 Atalanta Stakes at Sandown Park. Her eleven opponents included Blond Me (Coral Distaff), Spirit Raiser (Pipalong Stakes) and Red Box (Valiant Stakes). Ridden by Robert Havlin she ettled in mid-division before taking the lead a furlong out and winning in "impressive" style by three lengths from Blond Me.[11] John Gosden commented "she did it very nicely. She's a talented, progressive filly".[12]

The filly was undefeated in five races when she was sent to Ireland and moved up to Group 1 class for the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown Racecourse on 10 September. She briefly took the lead in the straight but was overtaken inside the final furlong and beaten into second place by Alice Springs. Qemah finished third while Jet Setting came home in sixth place.

After an absence of over ten months, Persuaive returned in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild over 1600 metres at Deauville Racecourse on 30 July 2017 and finished fifth of the ten runners behind Roly Poly, Via Ravenna, Siyoushake and Qemah. On 9 September at Leopardstown she ran for the second time in the Matron Stakes and came home strongly to take third place behind Hydrangea and Winter with Wuheida, Qemah, Roly Poly and Rhododendron finishing behind. At Newmarket Racecourse on 7 October the filly started favourite for the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes but was beaten into second place by Roly Poly.[13]

Two weeks after her defeat in the Sun Chariot Stakes, Persuasive was matched against male opposition for the first time in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on soft ground at Ascot. Ribchester started favourite ahead of Churchill, Beat the Bank (Joel Stakes) and Al Wukair (Prix Jacques Le Marois) with Persuasive next in the betting at 8/1. The other ten runners included Thunder Snow, Here Comes When (Sussex Stakes), Lightning Spear (Celebration Mile), Breton Rock (Lennox Stakes) and Lancaster Bomber. Dettori positioned the filly towards the rear of the field before witching her to the outside to make a challenge in the straight. She took the lead a furlong from the finish and won by a length from Ribchester, with Churchill half a length away in third, becoming the first four-year-old filly to take the race since Rose Bowl in 1976.[14] Following the filly's win Gosden said "It never worries me taking the colts on late in the year with a filly. I think they go through hell through the spring into the summer, coming into season and out of season, and hormonally they are a bit like a boy growing up. Then when they come to late summer and autumn everything is settled and they can focus on racing... She's a very good filly and I'm thrilled with her. We've waited for this ground as she loves it. She deserves it."[15]