Blue Rose Cen (2/1 favourite) returned to her best to win the Prix de l'Opera Longines at ParisLongchamp.
Winner of the Marcel Boussac on this card 12 months ago, Blue Rose Cen had enjoyed a brilliant first half of 2023 before defeats on her last two starts but got her head back in front to the delight of jockey Aurelien Lemaitre.
Blue Rose Cen won her seasonal reappearance before adding the French Guineas and Oaks to her tally but tasted defeat at Glorious Goodwood - where Lemaitre came in for criticism from some quarters of the British media - and in her prep race, the Prix Vermeille over a mile and a half.
Dropped back to 10 furlongs, the pair jumped well and were left in the lead initially but eventually Lumiere Rock went on from Jackie Oh with Blue Rose Cen settled in fourth.
The order remained more or less unchanged from there until the cutaway when the field fanned out across the card but those behind the pace couldn't land a telling blow as the prominent racers dominated the finish.
Blue Rose Cen picked up well in the centre of the course to hit the front and although Jackie Oh fought back and pushed her hard, she never looked like getting past. Lumiere Rock was third.
Betfair Sportsbook make Blue Rose Cen 4/1 (from 8s) for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and while trainer Christopher Head is unsure she will make the trip a four-year-old campaign is on the cards.
He said: “You never know they can be running in the Vermeille and still get it back in the Opera – what a filly.
“For sure she will stay in training at four. She’s nominated for the Breeders’ Cup, but we will have to discuss that.
“My ambition is to one day win the Arc and I’m working on it.”
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