Opera Singer is pitch perfect in G1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood

Kentucky-bred Opera Singer recorded her second Group 1 victory, taking down top prize in the Nassau S. (G1) at Goodwood on Thursday, Aug. 1

Owned by Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, and Westerberg, Opera Singer showed the way early in the 1 ¼-mile fixture. The Aidan O’Brien-trained filly, ridden by Ryan Moore, stayed on well to score from See the Fire (GB). The Nassau was the second Group 1 victory for Opera Singer, who won the Marcel Boussac (G1) at Longchamp in France last year at two. She has now won four of eight lifetime starts and has amassed earnings of $1,009,117. Opera Singer, a daughter of Justify, was honored as European Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2023. In a pair of prior starts this year, Opera Singer finished third in the Irish 1000 Guineas (G1) and finished second in the Coronation S. (G1).

Ryan Moore told ITV Racing, “She started late in the Irish Guineas and the ground was slow on the day which didn’t suit her, and she ran a super race at Ascot. She stayed very well in the Boussac last year and we always felt she’d stay 10 and 12 furlongs. When she won the Boussac last year, I thought she was an Arc filly. The race suited her today, and we’re still learning about her. She’s very straightforward. Everything you ask her to do, she just does it.”

In an article on TDN, O’Brien noted of Opera Singer, “We always felt she was crying out for a step up in trip, and she’s a very good filly who could step up further. If she is going to the Arc, she might go for the Prix Vermeille (G1) before but if the ground was bad at Longchamp, she could go to the Breeders’ Cup instead. Last year, we thought her and City of Troy were the best 2-year-old filly and colt we’d ever had.”