Tag: Opera Singer

Novel Promotion Rewards Coolmore Breeders with Justify Season

Coolmore's Ashford Stud will enter breeders who have booked mares to Corniche, Epicenter, Jack Christopher, or Tiz the Law into drawings to award four no-guarantee nominations to Justify in a promotion called “THE JUSTIFY 4.” There will be a separate drawing for each of the four stallions, with one no-guarantee nomination awarded among each pool, for a total of four.

The drawing will be held on Apr. 26.

The farm said that the event was being held “to celebrate Justify's phenomenal year in 2023.”

Justify is the cumulative leading third-crop sire by earnings in a group that includes strong competition from sires including Good Magic, Bolt d'Oro, Mendelssohn, and City of Light. He was the leading second-crop sire of 2023, not only by earnings, but in every black-type category. His six individual Grade I winners equaled the annual combined total of the rest of his crop year.

His appeal is global; in 2023 alone, he was the sire of dual Grade I winner Just F Y I, the favorite to be named Champion Juvenile Filly; Hard to Justify, the winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf; Opera Singer, winner of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac; Aspen Grove (Ire), winner of the GI Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational S.; Arabian Lion, winner of the GI Woody Stephens S.; and City of Troy, winner of the G1 Dewhurst S. Already in 2024, his Storm Boy (Aus) has won the A$3-million The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic in Australia.

“In a very competitive market, we hoped that this promotion would remind breeders of the incredible potential and upside of our younger stallions,” said Coolmore's Charlie O'Connor. “And who better to remind them of that than Justify? This is an amazing opportunity for breeders to use these stallions who are all Grade I winners on dirt.

“Justify has enjoyed a sensational year,” continued O'Connor. “He's the first sire in North America since Mr Prospector to sire four Grade I-winning juveniles in a single season. His two Breeders' Cup winners are amongst the three finalists for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly at the upcoming Eclipse Awards, City of Troy and Opera Singer have been crowned European Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and European Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, while Ramatuelle was crowned French Champion 2-Year-Old. And if all that's not enough, he was also Champion First-Crop Sire in Australia. We think 'THE JUSTIFY 4' concept is a novel idea which is sure to catch the imagination of breeders given four seasons to this great stallion are up for grabs.”

Justify's 2024 stud fee was initially listed at $200,000, but was later switched to private.

The terms and conditions of the event are as follows:

  • For each qualifying mare contracted to any of the four stallions by Apr. 26, 2024, a ticket will be entered with no limit on the number of tickets per client.
  • One ticket will be drawn for each of the four stallions with the prize being a no-guarantee 2024 season to Justify in each case.
  • The mare nominated must be approved and fit for breeding purposes. Mares over 17 or barren for the last two years are excluded.
  • The qualifying mare must be bred before the nominated mare can be bred by Justify.
  • All Coolmore employees and related parties are ineligible for these draws as are any of the partners in the participating stallions. In the event of a dispute, Coolmore is the final arbitrator.

Corniche, Epicenter, and Jack Christopher are all standing their second season at stud with first weanlings arriving now. Corniche is the Breeders' Cup-winning Champion Juvenile; Epicenter is the Eclipse Award winning Champion 3-Year-Old and Travers winner; and Jack Christopher is a three-time Grade I winner. Tiz the Law was a Grade I-winning 2-year-old who went on to win the GI Florida Derby, Belmont S., and Travers S. He has first 2-year-olds this year.

To participate in this draw, breeders may call the following Coolmore connections: M.V. Magnier, 011-353-86-821-6827; Dermot Ryan, 859-333-2562; Aisling Duignan, 859-333-2566; Charlie O'Connor, 859-333-2066; Adrian Wallace, 859-327-8302; Robyn Murray, 859-619-8770; Michael Norris, 859-753-1521; Blaise Benjamin, 859-333-2591; Charles Hynes, 859-753-3736; David O'Loughlin, 011-353-86-249-0821; or Christy Grassick, 001-353-86-255-1126.

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Justify’s City Of Troy Tops 2YO Classification

Aidan O'Brien hailed City Of Troy as the most exciting two-year-old he's trained as the son of Justify was named Europe's champion juvenile for 2023 when the classification was released on Tuesday. He becomes the 13th European champion two-year-old to have been trained by O'Brien, with only Johannesburg (126) achieving a higher rating among the previous 12.

A Coolmore homebred out of the G1 Fillies' Mile winner Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), City Of Troy went unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old, culminating with a dominant display when winning the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket by three and a half lengths. It was that effort which earned him his rating of 125, five pounds clear of the next best juvenile, G1 Phoenix S. winner Bucanero Fuerte (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}).

“We've probably never had a horse as exciting as City Of Troy as a two-year-old,” said O'Brien. “I suppose from the first time he ran he looked like he was something different. What makes him different is the tempo he's able to go in a race and then he just kicks into another gear at halfway.”

Noting the differences between City Of Troy and Johannesburg, O'Brien added, “Johannesburg was more of a two-year-old. He was a small horse, but City Of Troy is a bigger horse with a massive, long stride. He looks like he'll have no problem going up in distance and he's a horse who should go forward from two to three.”

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) handicapper Mark Bird said of the champion juvenile, “City Of Troy proved himself the cream of the two-year-old crop in Europe with three impressive performances between July and October. His rating of 125 places him alongside high-class horses such as Zafonic and Fasliyev at the same stage of their careers and behind only four-time Group 1-winning juvenile Johannesburg (126) among his own stable's illustrious roll call of European champion two-year-olds.”

Two of the top four colts were trained at Ballydoyle by O'Brien. Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was just behind Adrian Murray's Bucanero Fuerte with a rating of 119 having emulated City Of Troy by winning each of his three starts as a two-year-old, including an impressive five-length victory in the G1 National S. at the Curragh. He looks another leading Classic contender for his stable as a three-year-old, with a trip to France reportedly first on the agenda.

O'Brien said, “Obviously it can all change, but we're thinking of starting City Of Troy at Newmarket [in the G1 2000 Guineas] and we're thinking of maybe starting Henry Longfellow in France [in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains].”

G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. winner Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) was ranked joint-third with Henry Longfellow. He also emerged as the best of the British-based two-year-olds ahead of three other top-level winners, namely Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}), who earned a rating of 117 for his victory in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp; Fallen Angel (GB) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), rated 116 after her win in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. at the Curragh; and Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was awarded a rating of 115 after his wins in the G3 Autumn S. at Newmarket and G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

Fallen Angel was rated highest of all juvenile fillies trained in Britain, but she had to settle for the runner-up spot in Europe behind the 118-rated Opera Singer (Justify), the emphatic winner of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on whom O'Brien also issued a positive bulletin ahead of her three-year-old campaign.

“Opera Singer was a filly who improved with every run as the year went on and she got better as she went up in trip,” said O'Brien. “We were very happy with her last two runs and we haven't seen the best of her at all. She's done well physically and we're thinking she'll probably start in the G1 1000 Guineas.”

The 114-rated Ramatuelle, another daughter of Justify, was the standout two-year-old of either sex in France having won three of her first four starts for Christopher Head, including the G2 Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly by four lengths, before being narrowly beaten by Vandeek when stepping up to the top level in the Prix Morny at Deauville. The 113-rated Vespertilio (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), runner-up to Fallen Angel in the Moyglare, and G1 Fillies' Mile winner Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}), rated 112, were the pick of the other juvenile fillies in Europe.

The Breeders' Cup was a happy hunting ground for the European raiders, with Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett) and Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point) both achieving notable ratings in winning the G1 Juvenile Turf and G1 Juvenile Turf Sprint respectively. With a rating of 114, Unquestionable shares joint-ninth with Dewhurst runner-up Alyanaabi (Ire) (Too Darn Hot) and Ramatuelle, while Big Evs sits just outside the top ten on 113, together with G2 Champagne S. winner Iberian (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), G1 Criterium International hero Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) and Vespertilio.

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Ace Impact Crowned Cartier Horse of the Year

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Classic winner Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}) has been named Cartier Horse of the Year at the 33rd Cartier Racing Awards ceremony at London's Dorchester Hotel.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget for Gousserie Racing and Serge Stempniak, the unbeaten colt is the first French-trained winner of the award since Treve (Fr) in 2013. His sire Cracksman was the Cartier Three-Year Old Colt of 2017.

Ace Impact's fellow nominees for the premier award were Coolmore's Paddington (GB) and Auguste Rodin (Ire), each of whom won four Group 1 races during 2023, and Mostahdaf (Ire), winner of the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes and G1 Juddmonte International.

Ace Impact also receives the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt Award, a category in which Paddington, Auguste Rodin and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. winner Big Rock (Ire) were also shortlisted. 

Shadwell's homebred Mostahdaf, a son of Frankel (GB) trained by John and Thady Gosden, was named Cartier Older Horse over Hukum (Ire) and Westover (GB), who produced one of the races of the year in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S., and Inspiral (GB), a previous dual Cartier Award winner.

Tahiyra (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a fifth-generation homebred for the Aga Khan, received the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly Award. Trained by Dermot Weld, she won the Irish 1,000 Guineas, G1 Coronation S. and G1 Matron S. Her conquer in the 1,000 Guineas, Mawj (Ire), was shortlisted for the prize along with French Classic heroine Blue Rose Cen (Ire) and Warm Heart (Ire), who posted Group 1 wins at York and Longchamp this year.

Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}), trained by Julie Camacho to win the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup, was named Cartier Sprinter. Co-bred by his owner Martin Hughes, he received the award ahead of his fellow Group 1 winners Highfield Princess (Fr), Live In The Dream (Ire) and Art Power (Ire).

Having been crowned Cartier Stayer in 2021, Trueshan clinched the award for a second time. Now seven, and trained by Alan King for the Singula Partnership, Trueshan returned to top form in 2023 to win the G2 Doncaster Cup and G1 Prix du Cadran. Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami (GB), St Leger winner Continuous (Jpn), and the tearaway G1 Goodwood Cup winner Quickthorn (GB) were also nominated.

There was a clean sweep for the Coolmore partners in the juvenile division, with City Of Troy named Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and Opera Singer claiming the award for Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly. Both are by the Triple Crown winner Justify and trained by Aidan O'Brien. Also shortlisted in their respective categories were the colts Vandeek (GB), Henry Longfellow (Ire) and Rosallion (GB), and fillies Porta Fortuna (Ire), Fallen Angel (GB) and Ylang Ylang (GB).

Jeff Smith, the hugely successful owner/breeder based at Littleton Stud in Hampshire, was the recipient of the Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit in A longstanding and popular figure in racing, Smith's colours have been carried by  a notable list of horses, including Chief Singer, Lochsong (GB), Persian Punch (Ire), and Alcohol Free (Ire). They were most recently seen in stakes-winning action aboard the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. winner Ghostwriter (Ire), trained by Clive Cox.

Laurent Feniou, managing director of Cartier UK, said, “I am delighted to celebrate another outstanding group of horses at the 33rd Cartier Racing Awards. Ace Impact displayed his brilliance throughout the year, culminating with a magnificent victory in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and he is a deserving recipient of the Cartier Horse of the Year Award. We are also extremely pleased to present the Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit to Jeff Smith, who has enjoyed tremendous success as an owner and breeder over the past six decades. Cartier are honoured to be able to recognise these champions of the sport and I congratulate all of this year's winners.”

 

 

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Justify’s Opera Singer Dominates The Marcel Boussac

   Impressive in the G3 Flame of Tara S. at The Curragh in August, Opera Singer (Justify–Liscanna {Ire}, by Sadler's Wells) took it to another level on Sunday as she outclassed her contemporaries in ParisLongchamp's G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, a GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf qualifying race.

Stoked up from the break by Ryan Moore to enjoy a narrow lead from Darnation (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}), the half-sister to War Front's top-level winners Hit It A Bomb and Brave Anna had that rival in trouble inside the straight and lengthened away to score by five lengths from Rose Bloom (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), with 3/4 of a length back to the TDN Rising Star Les Pavots (Ire) (No Nay Never) in third.

“She's a big filly, genuine and strong and long-striding with loads of class,” Aidan O'Brien said of the 17-10 favourite. “She got a brilliant ride. She has the option of going to the Breeders' Cup, but we'll talk to Ryan and speak with the lads.”

Introduced in the seven-furlong Curragh maiden won by stablemate Ylang Ylang (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in June, Opera Singer was up to this trip to open her account at Leopardstown in July before dropping down again to be a head second to A Lilac Rolla (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) in The Curragh's Irish EBF Fillies Juvenile Race in mid-August. It was two weeks later back in Kildare that the flashy bay really came alive, galloping her rivals into the ground to win the Flame of Tara, run under the banner Newtownanner Stud Irish EBF S., by 6 1/2 lengths.

   There was no hiding place here, with the winner closing out with a final three furlongs in :32.92 and a penultimate split of :10.59 which was faster than Rosallion's equivalent in the preceding race.

“Ryan said she was very straightforward,” O'Brien added of Justify's first European Group 1 winner. “I thought she was very strong all the way to the line and it was an impressive performance. She's by Justify and they get better with age. As she steps up in trip she's something to look forward to next year.

“She's obviously a filly that would have no problem starting off at a mile in a Classic and you would imagine she would have no problem going up to a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half. Ryan was raving about her there coming in–he said I look forward to this day next year!”

   Nicolas Clement said of Rose Bloom, “She had a very good race behind the winner and despite running a bit freely, ran on really well at the finish. She was beaten by a good filly and we're the first home of the French finishers, so we are hopeful of having a good filly on our hands for next season. I don't think she'll run again this year.”

Francis-Henri Graffard said of Les Pavots, “We're delighted with her performance. She's a very professional filly, but the winner seemed unbeatable and so we're pleased with our third place. We're going to talk to her owners, but it's possible that she'll run in the Breeders' Cup. That's always been on the owner's mind. She acts well on a sound surface.”

 

Pedigree Notes

   Opera Singer is the 11th foal out of the G3 Ballyogan S. winner Liscanna (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), whose aforementioned Brave Anna captured the G1 Cheveley Park S. and Hit It A Bomb the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. The second dam is the dual listed winner and G2 Rockfel S. runner-up Lahinch (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), whose four black-type performers include the G3 Kilternan S. winner The Bogberry (Hawk Wing) and the G1 Oaks runner-up Ennistymon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Another of her Galileo progeny was the G2 Kilboy Estate S. second Lahinch Classics (Ire) who is in turn the dam of the GI Summer S. runner-up Grafton Street also by Brave Anna and Hit It A Bomb's sire War Front.

 

 

Sunday, ParisLongchamp, France
QATAR PRIX MARCEL BOUSSAC – CRITERIUM DES POULICHES-G1, €400,000, ParisLongchamp, 10-1, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:36.40, g/s.
1–OPERA SINGER, 123, f, 2, by Justify
1st Dam: Liscanna (Ire) (GSW-Ire, $118,164), by Sadler's Wells
2nd Dam: Lahinch (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
3rd Dam: Dublah, by Private Account
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-M Tabor, D Smith, Mrs J Magnier & Westerberg; B-Mrs E Stockwell (KY); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €228,560. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 5-3-1-0, €282,750. *1/2 to Hit It A Bomb (War Front), GISW-US, SW & MGSP-Ire, $626,476; Brave Anna (War Front), G1SW-Eng, $213,423; Border Town (War Front), GSP-US, $273,148; and Threeandfourpence (War Front), SP-Ire, $275,643. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rose Bloom (Ire), 123, f, 2, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Xaarienne (GB), by Xaar (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE; 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€320,000 Ylg '22 ARQAUG). O-China Horse Club International; B-John O'Connor (IRE); T-Nicolas Clement. €91,440.
3–Les Pavots (Ire), 123, f, 2, No Nay Never–Sparrow (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Craig Bernick & Haras d'Etreham; B-Coolmore Stud (IRE); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €45,720.
Margins: 5, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.70, 9.00, 5.00.
Also Ran: Ribaltagaia, Darnation (Ire), Extraordinaire (Fr), Voodoo Magic (Fr), Julica (Fr), Freville (Fr), Zandy (Ire). Video, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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