Tarnawa gets BC Filly and Mare Turf berth with Prix de l’Opera victory

Tarnawa won her second Group 1 race in France in a month in Sunday’s $351,000 Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. The victory could lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Tarnawa (3-1) closed from the back of a field of 12 in the 1 1/4-mile race to win by about a head over 8-5 favorite Alpine Star. Audarya, a 15-1 outsider, finished third by a length.

Tarnawa was ridden by Christophe Soumillon for trainer Dermot Weld of Ireland. They teamed to win the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at 1 1/2 miles with Tarnawa at Longchamp on Sept. 13.

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A 4-year-old filly by Shamardal, Tarnawa earned a fees-paid berth to the BC Filly and Mare Turf with her win on heavy turf. Tarnawa, a winner of 7 of 13 starts, has won six group stakes in France and Ireland in her career.

The Prix de l’Opera field changed remarkably on Saturday when leading contender Fancy Blue was withdrawn by trainer Donnacha O’Brien after a pre-race test showed trace levels of the banned medication zilpaterol, a muscle builder. Horses trained by O’Brien’s brother Joseph and famous father, Aidan, were also withdrawn from the Longchamp program on Sunday out of abundance of caution.

There were two sprints for older horses on Sunday’s Longchamp program.

Wooded won his first Group 1 in the $245,700 Prix de l’Abbaye at five furlongs on turf, earning a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf Sprint on Nov. 7.

Ridden by Pierre-Charles Boudot, Wooded (13-2) took the lead with more than a furlong remaining and held off a late threat from 8-5 favorite Glass Slippers to win by a neck. Liberty Beach (10-1) finished third, beaten a half-length.

Wooded, a 3-year-old colt by Wootton Bassett, has won 3 of 9 starts. The Prix de l’Abbaye was his second stakes win. On Sept. 13, Wooded was second as the 11-10 favorite in the Group 3 Prix du Petit Couvert at five furlongs on turf at Longchamp.

The Group 1 Prix de la Foret at seven furlongs was won for the third consecutive year by the 6-year-old mare One Master.

Trained by William Haggas and ridden by Boudot, One Master (5-2) caught 7-5 favorite Earthlight in the final sixteenth to beat that rival by a neck. Safe Voyage (7-2) was beaten a half-length.

One Master has won six stakes in her career, which began in 2017. Her only Group 1 wins have been the three victories in the Prix de la Foret.