15:45 Curragh - Back Vespertilio @ 6/17.00 1pt e/w (4 places)
Will all those who questioned if City Of Troy would train on at three years do the same with Opera Singer? She became the third 2yo Group 1 winner out of her dam Liscanna, but the other two failed to kick on as three-year-olds. That may all be nonsense, and I wouldn't be an expert in that department, but I find it fascinating. She looked excellent last term. She improved with each outing and finished her season with two devastating victories at the Curragh and in Paris.
However, her victories at this time are more style over substance - and they were stylish - with only the Longchamp eighth the next-time-out winner from both wide-margin victories. The bare form suggests there is something to find with one or two of these. Throw in that she is making her seasonal debut from a wide draw in stall 13, making life challenging to adopt front-running tactics that worked so well last term, and she has a whole host of potential behind her - the 5/23.50 offers no value to me.
Fallen Angel is another who needs to prove she has kicked on this term after a lacklustre run in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket following the hype from her trainer. She may improve, for her odds are very defensive at 5/16.00.
There are no such doubts about Vespertilio - 6/17.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - training on who arrives after an excellent third in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1,000 Guineas) on seasonal debut. She holds the most potent form lines along with Fallen Angel but has proven to be just as good, if not better, than last term.
Her form behind Ylang Ylang last year was not hurt by that one finishing a staying-on-length fifth in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, and she only had a length or so to find with Fallen Angel when the pair met here last year.
She improved with a brilliant third at Longchamp. She deserved a marked upgrade, having travelled wide from a bad draw, covering plenty more ground than any other runner. She came from further back than ideal in a race that favoured front-runners but recorded a better time than the following 2,000 Guineas (although substantial rain followed).
The form of that first run of the season ties in with Opera Singer through many collateral lines, one of which is Rose Bloom, who was five lengths second to the Aidan O'Brien horse in Paris last year and could only manage a well-beaten ninth behind Vespertilio and co in the Guineas.
The selection certainly holds the strongest form in this field this season. She is race-fit and returning to a track she has performed well on, and she should enjoy getting back on a quick surface.
Her claims are enhanced by potential improvement at this distance. She put any stamina doubts to bed by hitting the line strongly in France, and she is drawn well in stall five and entitled to improve for her seasonal debut. The negatives are tough to find, and her price is attractive for an each-way bet at 6/17.00 or bigger with four places on offer, although I wouldn't lay her at 3/14.00.
15:45 Curragh - Back Vespertilio