Opera Ballo

Whatever the week ahead at Royal Ascot brings, there is one certainty and that is Aidan O'Brien stretching what's possible even further from the centre. Let's get this out of the way first; the current master of Ballydoyle will undeniably form his own one-man club at some point over the next five days with his 100th Royal winner. It is a club so exclusive that it will likely see no other member for decades, with the County Wexford-born nonpareil still a relative youth in the training ranks. Ironically, his shortest-priced...

Godolphin's Opera Ballo will not contest the G1 Prix Aga Khan IV versus the Aga Khan Studs' Daryz (Sea The Stars), and will instead be aimed at the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, according to trainer Charlie Appleby. "We were looking towards the Prix Aga Khan IV (Prix d'Ispahan) but we're now going to go straight to the Queen Anne," said Appleby of the G1 Jebel Hatta-winning son of Ghaiyyath, who landed the G2 Mile at Sandown in April. "There are a couple of reasons behind it, firstly...

A high-class edition of the Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes is in prospect at Newbury on Saturday, with Damysus (Frankel), Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) and Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder) headlining a 13-strong list of contenders for the Group 1 showpiece. Damysus kicked off his four-year-old campaign with an impressive victory in last month's G3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket, while Opera Ballo had Zeus Olympios back in third when winning the G2 bet365 Mile at Sandown. Trainer Karl Burke expects Zeus Olympios to strip fitter with that outing under his...

Friday, Sandown, Britain, post time: 15:00, BET 365 MILE-G2, £165,000, 4yo/up, 8f 0y Field: Cicero's Gift (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), Opera Ballo (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Zeus Olympios (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Dancing Gemini (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Field Of Gold (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), Never So Brave (Ire) (No Nay Never). TDN Analysis: Effectively a Group 1 contest in all but name, this renewal for the ages witnesses the return of last year's G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace hero Field Of Gold, who faces off against a select band....

Charlie Appleby's Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) will skip an intended start in the G1 Dubai Turf at the end of March and instead will be pointed to a summer campaign. The Racing Post first reported the news. The winner of the G1 Jebel Hatta earlier this year, the son of Ghaiyyath was set to face fellow Godolphin runner and Group 1 winner Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) in the contest. Appleby told the publication, "Opera Ballo is in good shape but I don't think a full field of 14 runners going around...

Godolphin's Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath) earned his first Group 1 badge in the Jebel Hatta at Meydan on Friday. The consistent colt gave William Buick his third win on the night. Four-time Group 1 winner Nations Pride (Teofilo) cut out fractions while shadowed by Wathnan Racing's Silawi (Dubawi) for much of this contest. The well-regarded eventual winner stayed in midpack from the jump, but was keen to do more behind his first three rivals. On the bend, Godolphin second-stringer Nations Pride lengthened his advantage, but came back to the field entering...

Fashion Friday at Meydan features a nine-race card, eight of them for Thoroughbreds, and the crowning jewel is the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge, which grants the victor an entry in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup on March 28. The 2026 edition features the past two winners in Walk Of Stars (Dubawi) and Kabirkhan (California Chrome), who are both trained by Bhupat Seemar. "Walk Of Stars had a lot of weight to give away first time out, against horses who were race fit," Seemar said of the gelding's fourth in...

Friday, Meydan, UAE, post time: 9.00pm, AL MAKTOUM MILE SPONSORED BY EMAAR-G2, AED1,000,000, 3yo/up, 1600m Field: Imperial Emperor (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Meshtri (Medaglia d'Oro), Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance), King Gold (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}), Mendelssohn Bay (Mendelssohn), Commissioner King (Commissioner), Morning (Munnings), Castlewarden (Into Mischief), Killer Collect (Collected), Masmak (Vino Rosso), West Saratoga (Exaggerator), Musical Dancer (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), David Of Athens (Nyquist). TDN Analysis: Bhupat Seemar saddles no fewer than eight of the 13 runners, headed by March's G2 Al Maktoum Classic winner Imperial Emperor and recent Dubai Creek Mile scorer...

Winter Watch will have its time between now and the return of the Flat for real next March, but first let us bask in a snapshot of summer, celebrating our diamonds in the rough who graduated from all-weather unknowns to titans of the turf in the space of 12 months. Last winter's action might not have given us another Classic winner, à la Notable Speech, but once again the flourishing all-weather programme lived up to its reputation as a breeding ground for black-type performers of the future. At the very top...

Thursday, Sandown, post time: 19:05, STAR SPORTS HENRY II STAKES-G3, £80,000, 4yo/up, 16f 50yT Field: Al Nayyir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Burdett Road (GB) (Muhaarar {GB}), Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Tashkhan (Ire) (Born To Sean {Ire}), Trawlerman (Ire) (Golden Horn {GB}). TDN Verdict: Trawlerman looks to strengthen his Gold Cup claims now that old foe Kyprios has been ushered out of the scene and the 2023 G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup winner is a cut above these rivals on all evidence. The last time Burdett Road ran on the Flat,...

Darley nominations manager Eamon Moloney has shared the high opinion that Charlie Appleby has held Opera Ballo (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) in all winter and revealed that the colt's impressive victory at Kempton on Wednesday has resulted in a slew of calls from breeders either side of the Irish Sea booking in mares to his sire.  Opera Ballo, who fetched €600,000 at the Arqana August Yearling Sale, won the same Kempton maiden that Appleby landed with subsequent 2,000 Guineas hero Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) last year.  The wide-margin win, which...