Now back in Australia for another season at Coolmore, Justify (USA) unleashed another impressive juvenile winner at Leopardstown overnight with the Aidan O’Brien trained filly Opera Singer saluting in style to earn a step up to stakes company.
Ridden by Ryan Moore, Opera Singer improved off a debut eighth at the end of last month, appreciating the step to a 1m to forge clear and win by a length and a quarter.
“She's progressed nicely from her first run. It looked a well above average maiden that she ran in first time at the Curragh with the filly earlier coming out of the same race,” said stable representative Chris Armstrong.
“She's a filly with plenty of class and Seamus (Heffernan) liked her the first day. Ryan felt she had come forward nicely. There is plenty of improvement still in her, she had a good blow afterwards.”
Opera Singer holds entries for a number of upcoming Group races in coming months.
“Something like the Flame Of Tara (G3) over a mile could suit her. She's a filly that will stay well next year, she'll be a nice middle distance filly as a three-year-old,” said Armstrong.
“She'll step up into stakes company next time, the Flame Of Tara looks the logical step at the moment.”
Interestingly, the Group III Flame of Tara Stakes was won last year by Justify filly Aspen Grove, who recently won the Group I $500,000 Group I Belmont Oaks Invitational (1 ¼ m) on turf in New York.
Opera Singer runs for the Coolmore partners and is a half-sister to a pair of Group I winning fillies by War Front in Brave Anna (Newmarket Cheveley Park Stakes) and Hit it a Bomb (Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf).
She is the eighth winner from nine foals to race from Group III winning Sadler’s Wells mare Liscanna.
The sire of 15 stakes-winners worldwide from his first two crops, Justify stands this spring in Australia at a fee of $77,000.
