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Rock Opera Unravels Knot in Filly and Mare Turf
Original article written by Marzy Dotes posted 13 years 2 weeks agoRock Opera rocked it on down the stretch to capture the $1.5 million Grade I Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Turf by a ½ length over the defending champion, Knot. The bold and brassy three year old filly raced the 1 ¼ miles on the elegant turf oval at Seattle Downs in 1:59.8, bring the crowd of over 300,000 spectators onto their feet and then into a near faint.
The daughter of stakes winning mare Rockapella had sold for just a tick under $3.6 million at auction to A.R. Roberts. This young broodmare produced her first Steward’s Cup winner from her very first foal but look out because her son by Magician, Rock me Amadeus has broken his maiden and the Soloist by Vernacular is gearing up to start racing this year.
Rock Opera is by Jabaar who won championship titles in both the South Pacific including horse of the year and in Europe. In his final season of racing, Jabaar won three stakes races in a row including the Desert Turf Classic over Moya before finishing third in the Steward’s Cup Turf behind two youngsters in July and Feat. To call this bay son of Stop and Stare and the great mare, Shentaan a nice sire would be a serious understatement as over 11% of his runners are stakes winners and he’s grown quite popular.
His sassy filly Rock Opera had done quite nicely for herself even before the Steward’s Cup with seven wins in nine starts. Her early morning workouts weren’t sensational but when she stepped foot behind the starting gate, she soon showed she was special indeed. Second in her first race at a mile, she broke her maiden once she started stretching out. She won her four starts after that including stakes wins in the Magellan Stakes and the Affirmed Star Stakes.
She finished fourth in the International Oaks but prepped well for her first run at the Filly and Mare Turf by winning two stakes including the Queen Mother Stakes two weeks before the big day.
But in her path was the formidable Knot, the proud daughter of South Pacific Champion Two Year Old Colt Frayed and Australian Two Year Old Map a daughter of Conduit and Banner. European Horse of the Year Knot won this race the previous year and loomed with wins in the Prix Versailles and the Flower Pot Handicap. She spent most of her season in open competition and also finished second in the Premio Oscurita to Baracuda and third in the King George Stakes to Imposing and Top Honor. Owned and bred by Ara Davies, she appeared ready to defend her crown. Unite as One’s daughter Day Break (by Gonzalo) who had been a North American champion two times over and Kismet’s daughter, Set Trends (by Untamed) who had won the Kentucky Crown Ladies Turf also appeared at the starting line.
Ridden by Ryan Roberts, Rock Opera broke in the fourth spot, pretty close to the action while Shatter the Air and Set Trends went for the lead. Rock Opera eased up in the third spot in the long backstretch run while Shatter the Air moved to a two length lead over Set Trends while Knot remained in sixth position. On the far turn, with her nostrils flaring, Shatter the Air tried to extend her lead even further but Set Trends hung tough on her heels and Knot slipped into third just ahead of Rock Opera who decided she didn’t like that very much.
So she tossed her head a bit and powered her pistons on down the stretch seizing the lead which caused a gasp from the crowd as she and Knot battled it out, yard by yard, their strides eating up the ground. The two great female runners in a year that’s seen many stellar performances from this class pushed and pushed forward as the crowds cheered them on until Rock Opera prevailed. Knot finished a bold second by a half length over Day Break.
Rock Opera being a young sprite went off to rest a bit at Madrona Casbah Sands in Saudi Arabia which hints at a Mid Eastern racing campaign while Knot hung it up and rushed off to join Feat’s black book of dates and produced a dark bay filly to watch named Naughty Feet while Day Break checked in on Moya and had a colt named Farscape.