Fairyland Opera much too good for her Tramore rivals Fairyland Opera got a deserved win to her name, as she easily accounted for seven rivals in the Adare Manor Opportunity Maiden Hurdle. From the family of Opera Hat, the Lorna Fowler-trained six-year-old was beaten by just a neck on her penultimate start, again having to settle for the runner-up berth when last seen at Navan. Widely expected to make the breakthrough this afternoon, the Elusive Pimpernel bay was sent off the clear favourite at 10/11 and she raced mainly fourth under John Shinnick. Making smooth headway to the front after three out, she increased her advantage after the next and eventually came home 12-lengths to the good. Returned at 7/2, Keep Kool Coko finished second under Cian Quirke, while Ashdale Flyer (11/2) was another 18-lengths away in third. "That was great, she absolutely deserved it. She ran unbelievable races at both Naas and Navan, she just bumped into two very good horses. It didn't do her handicap mark any good, " Fowler commented. "We decided after that just to come back for a maiden. I was actually going to go to Down Royal but I didn’t want to run her on good ground. "We stepped up in trip today and they either stay or they don’t and they either handle Tramore or they don’t and she managed both just fine. "Johnny gave her a lovely ride and it was nice that he knew her from the last time. She's a gorgeous filly and I hope she keeps progressing now. "The plan had always been to step her up in trip but I kept her over two miles at Navan because it’s a bit of a stretch up the straight there. "She might get one more run now before we leave her off. We’ll see how she comes out of this but we definitely know that the step up in trip worked. "I'm very happy for her owners Valerie and Diana (Cooper), they have been big supporters and I'm really glad for them. "She's very consistent and when you have that consistency you know you have something to go forward with."
