Listen Dear faces Opera Hat test Listen Dear bids to extend her winning run to seven when lining up in the BBA Ireland Limited Opera Hat Mares Chase at Naas on Saturday. Willie Mullins' charge is three from three since switching to fences, most recently impressing in a Grade Three contest at Cork in December. She drops to Listed class for her latest assignment, but Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father, feels the seven-year-old faces the toughest test of her career to date as she bids to give weight and a beating to Joseph O'Brien's talented mare Slowmotion. Mullins said: "She's been fantastic this season after winning so many races. "However, she has to give 11lb to Slowmotion, who is rated only 5lb lower, so we're 6lb wrong at the weights. "She's in good form, but she'll need to produce a career-best performance to win and we're hopeful rather than confident." The JP McManus-owned Slowmotion, a Grade Two winner over hurdles, has taken time to find her feet over fences. She fell at the first fence on her debut at Wexford and was hard pressed to open her account on her last visit to the Kildare track in January. Keppols Queen looks another danger to Listen Dear after a big run against the Mullins-trained Westerner Lady at Thurles last month. She had just been joined by that rival when crashing out at the last in Grade Two company and a repeat of that showing gives her a big shout. Solita, Dorkas and Elusive Ivy complete the six-strong field.
