G1 – 2000m – Turf
Horse Racing
Season
Prix de l'Opera – Form Comments
| Urban Fox | UK trained but she very nearly won a G1 in France last time, only beaten a neck at Deauville. That confirmed how effective she is over 2000m and she has respectable chances here on good ground or faster. Her stable is having a great year. |
| Lady Frankel | She has twice run well in G1’s over this trip, only beaten 0.5L in this race (at Chantilly) last year and when impeded and imprisoned along the rail at Deauville in August, when she surely should have finished closer than fourth. Likely to be played late. |
| L’Arc | Has not been able to translate her Japanese form to France so far and has been soundly beaten in Listed races at Maisons-Laffitte and here at Longchamp. Very hard to fancy. |
| Rhododendron | Ran on bravely under strong pressure to narrowly win this G1 (at Chantilly) last year. That was on soft ground but she won a G1 on fast ground at Newbury earlier this year. However her form has disintegrated badly in four starts since then. |
| Navaro Girl | Won a soft ground G3 at Baden-Baden (2000m) about a year ago. This German-trained filly has run well a couple of times in France this year including when a fast finishing third in a G1 at Deauville, though never looking like catching the first two. |
| Desert Diamond | A small but progressive filly who had no difficulty winning a Listed race over a little further than this on easy ground at York in July. Tried in a G3 at The Curragh last time she raced too keenly but fought bravely for a good second. Up in class again. |
| Athena | Clearly tough, having competed ten times since April. A terrific effort from off the speed saw her win a fast-ground G1 over 2000m at Belmont Park in July, and then ran way better than her odds of 40-1 when fourth in a red-hot G1 at Leopardstown last month. |
| Castellar | A lightly raced filly who produced a career best on her latest start – after a 62-day break – when landing a G2 on rain-softened ground over this distance at Deauville in August, although admittedly it did turn into a sprint after a slow early pace. |
| Homerique | On just her third career start she ran a neck third in the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) over 2100m at Chantilly, a terrific performance. She then led from gate to wire to win a G3 at Deauville but faded out of a 1600m G1 at Longchamp last time. |
| My Sister Nat | Yet to disappoint in five starts and progressive and willing. Her best run came at Longchamp last time, looking in trouble in the straight but galloping on strongly to win that 1800m G3 quite comfortably. Good or faster ground probably best for her. |
| Wild Illusion | A classy filly who has run very well on all starts this season including when second in the G1 Oaks at Epsom on soft ground. Most recently she impressed with an all-the-way win in a G1 over a similar distance to this at Goodwood. Looks a strong candidate here. |
| Winter Lightning | In good shape at Meydan early in 2018 including when justifying favouritism in a 1600m Listed event on dirt. However, despite a promising return in a Sandown G3 last month, she then disappointed when trying this longer trip at Yarmouth. |
| Night Of England | Didn’t make show much early in her career in Germany but improved significantly to finish second in both a G3 at Hamburg and then the G1 German Oaks at Dusseldorf. Those – and a less good effort since – came over a longer trip than this. |
| Well Timed | Has some excellent winning form in Germany this year, notably when showing resolution to win the G1 German Oaks (2200m) at Dusseldorf in August. However after racing too keenly, she failed to make any impact in a Longchamp G1 over 2400m last month. Down in trip. |
| With You | She surged clear of her nine rivals to win a G1 on what her trainer thought was unsuitably soft ground for her over the straight 1600m at Deauville in July but couldn’t quite handle a stronger G1 field there subsequently. She’s proven at this longer trip. |
| Magic Wand | On form she looked to have a good chance of winning her first G1 in the Prix Vermeille (2400m) here last month. Leading around 200m out, she was just caught late on. She drops back to 2000m this time and will want a strong pace. Fast ground is her ideal. |
Others
05/10/2018
05/10/2018
