1m2f Prix de l’Opera Longines (Group 1) (3yo+ Fillies & Mares)
Blue Rose Cen has already got three Group 1’s on her CV and looked top class when winning the Prix Marcel Boussac on this card last year. She’s clearly a talented filly, but she has shown some cinks in her armour of late on her last two starts. Admittedly, one of those was bad luck at Goodwood and one of her runs would have been over too far a trip of 1m 4f in the Prix Vermeille last time out. Consequently, I think she’s worth taking on.
Another open looking race beyond the favourite, but a bit more obvious pace in the line-up and I expect Lumiere Rock to take them along. She has improved a lot this season and looks a streetwise filly. Her form ties in with both of our picks here in JACKIE OH and JANNAH ROSE. The former went down by three lengths to her at The Curragh last time, but can be marked up on account of her being placed too far back in the race, whilst also not getting a clear run up the straight when making her challenge.
Jackie Oh ran in the Irish 1000 Guineas earlier in the season which proved too short a trip, but she has gotten better and better over 1m 2f with each start and looks like a typical Galileo filly that gets better with racing. She needs a strongly run race and she could be peaking at the right time this season. Whilst she has shown much of her best form on softer going, I don’t think the ground is going to be super quick and it could be significant that Coolmore have picked her as his sole runner for this contest.
The other selection here is the very lightly-raced Jannah Rose, who has just had five starts with her only defeat coming in the Prix De Diane behind Blue Rose Cen. I think a line can be put through that performance as she has looked a potentially top-class filly in all of her other starts. Jannah Rose already got the better of Lumiere Rock on unsuitably soft ground and has a course and distance win at Longchamp already this season and it would be no surprise that she is good enough to win this.
1pt win Jackie Oh @13/2, 15:50 Longchamp, Sunda
1pt win Jannah Rose @13/2, 15:50 Longchamp, Sunday