We Are keeps l'Opera prize at home A formidable British and Irish challenge was unable to stop Freddy Head's We Are clinching victory in the Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp. Dermot Weld's Tarfasha headed the market following her victory in the Blandford Stakes at the Curragh last month and all appeared to be going according to script when she moved smoothly to the front under Pat Smullen. However, the James Fanshawe-trained Ribbons and Frankie Dettori ran to the lead before We Are came home strongly in the hands of Thierry Jarnet to snatch Group One glory. Roger Varian's Hadaatha finished well on the outside of the field to snatch third, relegating Tarfasha to fourth. Head will feel his filly deserved a victory at the top level, having been disqualified when winning the Group One Prix Saint-Alary at the track in late May. The three-year-old was thrown out due to a positive test for abnormal levels of testosterone, which was later discovered to have been caused by an ovarian tumour. After an operation in Newmarket to have the tumour removed, We Are was off the track for four months and although she was unable to make an impact on her return, she showed her true colours when it mattered. Ribbons ran a fine race in second, proving her Group One victory in the Prix Jean Romanet in August was no fluke. Head said: "She has recovered from an operation and it was a bit disappointing that she didn't run to form last time, and in fact she is unlucky not to be unbeaten in her career. It is great to win a Group One. "She will stay in training next year and win other races, maybe she will be as good as Moonlight Cloud (also owned by George Strawbridge)." Fanshawe said of Ribbons: "I'm really proud of her. She's proved she doesn't have to have soft ground. She looked awful in her coat in the summer and she's gone from strength to strength. She stays in training and will make a top filly." Both Tarfasha and Hadaatha carried the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. The owner's racing manager Angus Gold said: "It was an amazing run from Hadaatha, going from a Listed race to being placed in Group One within a couple of weeks. She got shuffled back a bit but she stayed on really well. "I don't know if she'll stay in training, but we might think about running at Ascot (British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes) in a couple of weeks. "Tarfasha levelled out a bit and I don't know whether it was one race too many."
