'I think she'll stay the trip good' - Billy Loughnane hoping Soprano hits right notes for fairytale first Breeders' Cup win

Billy Loughnane is revelling in his first Breeders' Cup and hopes to land a fairytale win at the meeting on Soprano in the Filly & Mare Turf (10.25).

The Grade 1 contest has been successful for international runners, with Ireland, Britain and Japan all winning over the last five years including with Inspiral, who achieved the race's highest Racing Post Racing of the decade with her last-gasp success 12 months ago.

Soprano must improve to reach that level but she has been performing admirably in mile races all season and showed a longer trip might benefit when staying on well over nine furlongs at Keeneland last time.

Loughnane said: "Soprano was a little bit inexperienced on the tight track at Keeneland last time out but she’ll learn from that, and I think she'll stay the trip good, so fingers crossed.

"With Soprano you’d prefer to have been drawn a little bit lower [than 12], but we've been dealt the hand we've got, so we'll see how she gets away from the gates and see how we get on."

Loughnane, who has three rides at Del Mar this weekend, is not the only foreign rider in the field, with Yorkshire Oaks winner Content also lining up under Ryan Moore.

The market is headed by Charlie Appleby's runner Cinderella's Dream, who returns from a two-month break under William Buick after success at Saratoga, while stablemate Beautiful Love will be partnered by Oisin Murphy.

Appleby said: "Cinderella's Dream ticks all the boxes going into it and will be a live player round there with the level that she's running to."

Hollie Doyle: rides Kathmandu for Brian Meehan Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Elsewhere, Hollie Doyle warms up for her Grade 1 ride on Bradsell by partnering Kathmandu in the opening mile contest (6.15) for Brian Meehan. The Owen Burrows-trained Raqiya, who saw off Kathmandu in the Oak Tree Stakes, also features under Frankie Dettori.

The rest of the evening's action is dominated by dirt races, centred around City Of Troy in the Classic. The race is preceded by the Filly & Mare Sprint (7.00) and the valuable Distaff (8.21), which will be without last year's winner Idiomatic after her retirement last week.

Leading the market in her absence is four-time Group 1 winner Thorpedo Anna, while Japan, who claimed their first Breeders' Cup success here in 2021, field the leading older challenger in Awesome Result.

The Sprint (11.05) has been claimed by Elite Power for the last two years, but with the Juddmonte stallion now retired jockey Irad Ortiz jnr looks to Federal Judge for a hat-trick. Owners WinStar Farm and Siena Farm are also represented by second-favourite Mullikin under Flavien Prat.

The French jockey also looks well placed in the meeting's closing race, with Prat due to ride favourite Domestic Product in the Dirt Mile (12.25).

Read more Breeders' Cup previews:

 'You have to be bulletproof, and we think he's as bulletproof as we can have him' - is this City Of Troy's date with destiny in Breeders' Cup Classic?   

'We think he's better than ever' - can star US sprinter Cogburn keep the British raiders at bay in the Turf Sprint?   

'She's a super filly' - Frankie Dettori reunited with Emily Upjohn and former boss John Gosden 

'There's plenty of strength in depth and it will be a great watch' - Charlie Appleby relishing Notable Speech's Mile history bid 

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