Rougir edges Grand Glory in Prix de l’Opera
Rougir won the tightest of photos over Grand Glory to win the Group 1 Prix de l’Opera on the Arc undercard Sunday at Longchamp.
Tepidly favored Audarya, winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, made the lead in hand past the quarter pole but had no final punch over a heavy course, fading to fourth. Eudaimonia finished third.
The Del Mar turf course will be a far, far different beast Nov. 6 than Longchamp was on Sunday, but Cedric Rossi, Rougir’s trainer, suggested the Opera winner could take advantage of this victory in a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. Rougir has an automatic fees-paid entry into the BC Filly and Mare Turf with a generous travel stipend to get to California.
“America should suit her, and she goes on any ground,” Rossi said.
Grand Glory ran a winning race as the first two home hit the wire in tandem after rallying wide and late in this 1 1/4-mile contest won in a slow 2:11.15. Rougir, a 3-year-old filly by Territories out of Summer Moon, by Elusive City, won for the first time in seven 2021 starts, paying $47.80 on the American tote.
2-year-olds
Trainer Andre Fabre scratched heavily favored Raclette from the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac because of Longchamp’s heavy ground but won the one-mile race for 2-year-old fillies anyway as Zellie prevailed by 1 3/4 lengths under Oisin Murphy.
Zellie ($9.80), by Wootton Bassett out of Sarai, by Nathaniel, was held up near the back of the field before finishing stoutly for a decisive victory. The filly has been first or second in all six of her races this year.
The Boussac is a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” race linked to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, but there was no firm word immediately after the Boussac about Zellie’s chances of going to Del Mar. Third-place finisher Oscula is a candidate for the Juvenile Fillies, her connections said.
In the Group 1 Jean-Luc Lagardere for 2-year-olds over seven furlongs, Angel Bleu, a proven wet-turf performer, ran down Noble Truth for a three-quarter-length win.
Frankie Dettori was aboard the winner for English trainer Ralph Beckett as the Fabre-trained favorite Ancient Rome checked in third. Angel Bleu ($13) could wheel back next weekend in the Group 1 Dewhurst, said Beckett, who termed the BC Juvenile Turf “more possible than probable.” The Lagardere is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.