Joseph Murphy will look at dropping Cercene back to a mile for the Matron Stakes following her gallant second-place finish to Whirl in the Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.

A torrential downpour caused ground conditions to be changed to heavy ahead of the Nassau Stakes and with lightning in the air, race day official deemed the stalls to be too dangerous to use.

Neither of the above proved a bother for the commanding five-length winner Whirl, who looks set to go right to the very top, with the Joseph Murphy-trained Coronation Stakes heroine Cercene also emerging with plenty of credit back in second.

Speaking of his stable star, who was stepping up to a mile and a quarter for the first time, a proud Joseph Murphy said: "'We are delighted with the filly. Gary [Carroll] said she was wheel-spinning in the ground.

"He said on better ground she would have run a great race. We know she needs good to good to firm ground. It was her courage which got her through. No words can describe how genuine and tough she is."

Whilst Murphy feels the step up to a mile and a quarter wasn't an issue, Cercene looks set to drop back to her Royal Ascot-winning distance next time out.

Murphy added: "She got the trip no problem, but I think we will go back to a mile for the Matron Stakes and hope the ground is good.''

Whirl could be set for a spin in the Yorkshire Oaks at next month's Ebor meeting, but Andrew Balding's four-year-old See The Fire looks like heading to the Juddmonte International following her third-place finish.

Balding said: "Conditions weren't ideal obviously but who is to say we would have beaten the winner anyway?

"She didn't have a terribly hard time and seemed OK afterwards. We will kick on to York for the International Stakes."