Tarfasha primed for Opera performance Tarfasha heads into Sunday's Prix de l'Opera at Longchamp as the principal contender in a two-pronged attack from the Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum team. Runner-up to Arc favourite Taghrooda in the Epsom Oaks and most recently winner of the Blandford Stakes at the Curragh, Dermot Weld's filly will be joined in the contest by recent Yarmouth Listed scorer Hadaatha. The latter's trainer Roger Varian made his Group One mark in this event with Nahrain three years ago. The owner's racing manager, Angus Gold, said: "Tarfasha is coming here having beaten a Classic winner in Chicquita. It was her first run of the year, of course, but our filly beat her well. "I saw her last week and she looked fantastic and I believe Pat Smullen was delighted with her when he rode in a piece of work earlier this week. "Hadaatha is hopefully an improving filly. "When she won her Listed race the other day she got further back than Paul (Hanagan) wanted and ended up in an uncompromising position, so she did well to win. "Paul said she quickened twice and we always thought she was potentially a good filly. "It's a big jump up for her, but she's a stakes winner now so we thought we'd give it a go and see if we can get her Group One placed." Jessica Harrington's juvenile filly Jack Naylor takes a huge step up in class as she goes for the Prix Marcel Boussac on the same card. The daughter of Champs Elysees has won her last three races, landing the Group Three Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown before dropping back to Listed level to take the Flame Of Tara at the Curragh. Jockey Fran Berry said: "Speaking to Jessie, she is very pleased with her. I rode her work last week and she's on track. All her form has stacked up extremely well, everything she has raced against has gone on to frank the form and she is well entitled to be there." He went on: "The ground looks like being good or better, and that will suit her very well. She's a Listed winner at a mile and she stays well. "She went from a Group Three back to a Listed race the last day, but she won with a penalty and she's a little bit under the radar. She just does enough, that's all she does, so maybe that's why she possibly doesn't get the credit she deserves."
