[4] Nearula made his racecourse debut in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 1952, when he finished second to the odds-on favourite Whistler.
He recovered from a bruised foot and was the ante-post favourite for the race after heavy support in the betting[10] but then suffered a more serious leg injury which disrupted his preparation and placed his participation in doubt.
He started at odds of 4/1[6] and won by three quarters of a length[13] after a "fine race"[1] against the Irish colt Sea Charger and the Washington, D.C. International Stakes winner Wilwyn.
[15] Despite his syndication, Nearula remained in training as a four-year-old and began his third season by winning the March Stakes over ten furlongs at Newmarket on 30 April.
Nearula started 11/8 favourite failed to reproduce his best form and finished third behind Aureole and Chatsworth, beaten a total of ten lengths.
As noted above, Nearula was the top-rated British two-year-old of 1952 in the official Free Handicap, two pounds ahead of the fillies Bebe Grande and Neemah.
In the same year the independent Timeform organisation awarded Nearula a rating of 132, placing him equal with the French colt Dragon Blanc as the season's best juvenile.
[18] In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Nearula an "average" winner of the 2000 Guineas.
In five seasons at stud he was not particularly successful, but did sire some good horses including Kythnos, who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas and finished third to St. Paddy in the Derby.