Gifted Girl

Gifted Girl really had no chance, as it turned out, of winning the Prix de l’Opera given the way the race was run.

Held up early on, the Paul Cole-trained filly had dropped back to last by half way. The early pace was really slow and, even though she travelled well, Tom Queally had little choice but to sit and suffer at the rear. With the field well bunched ahead of her, Queally still wasn’t able to fully ask her for her effort at the top of the home straight, and he angled around looking for a gap which never came. Switched back to the inside, she started to make progress a furlong and a half out. She quickly went past the three fillies who were immediately ahead of her, and she continued to make ground all the way to the line, even though she had to check outside Thistle Bird 100 yards out.

The Azamour filly can be marked up a fair bit for this run. She may even have played a major part in the finish had the pace been stronger. She is obviously in good form at this stage of the season and she handles soft ground well, so she will be of interest if she runs again before the end of the season. She had run well over a mile and three furlongs at Newbury on her previous run, travelling best to the two-furlong pole before getting done for stamina by the improving Camborne. On her previous run to that, she had chased home Dank in the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park.

It is a pity there is not a race for her on Champions Day at Ascot (the fillies’ and mares’ race is over a mile and a half) as she was really impressive when winning at Ascot early in the season, but she will be worth a second look wherever she does run now.

6th October 2013

Back