02-06-2025
Irish masterpiece on full display in French Derby
PARIS Ireland's Camille Pissarro showcased his close affinity with France by claiming the €1.5 million (S$2.2 million) Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club (2,100m) at Chantilly on June 1.
Camille Pissarro is trained in Ireland at the great Ballydoyle training centre, overseen by multiple-champion trainer Aidan O'Brien.
But he clearly enjoys France, where he has received his best accolades: the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at age two in October 2024 and a third-place finish in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (1,600m) on May 11.
He is also a son of popular stallion Wootton Bassett, who first rose to prominence in France and now stands in Ireland at Coolmore Stud, the stud farm for which O'Brien trains.
Besides the horse's name, a reference to one of the great French Impressionist masters, another French-Irish connection is his dam Entreat. She previously produced another Group 1 winner, Golden Horde, a son of Lethal Force now standing as a stallion in Normandy at the Haras de Montfort et Preaux.
Slated as the first leg of the brand new Arc Races, the Prix du Jockey Club was effectively decided well before the finish line.
The three horses who would eventually fill the podium, Camille Pissarro (Ryan Moore), Cualificar (William Buick), and Detain (Christophe Soumillon), were already well placed in ambush behind the two leaders - the eventual fourth-placed Trinity College (Wayne Lordan) and Bowmark (Tom Marquand) - 1,000m from the post, as they approached the long final bend that runs past the picturesque Great Stables chateau.
In fact, among the top five finishers, the only horse to make up ground in the straight was the Aga Khan's Azimpour (Clement Lecoeuvre), who came in fifth ahead of his stablemate Ridari (Mickael Barzalona).
All the horses who came from the outside, often forced there by bad draws, faded in the final straight.
It yet again confirmed the belief that when high-class horses secure the rails, it is nearly impossible to make up ground on them.
As an interesting anecdote, in the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, Camille Pissarro was beaten by his stablemate and co-owned runner, Henri Matisse, who is also a son of Wootton Bassett and is similarly named in tribute to a great French painter.
Regarded by many as the best trainer in the world, O'Brien won his second consecutive Prix du Jockey Club, after years of trying unsuccessfully in the race English speakers refer to as the French Derby. His only previous win came with St Mark's Basilica in 2021.
"After the Poule d'Essai des Poulains, when Christophe Soumillon got off the horse, he immediately told us to run him in the Jockey Club," said the Ballydoyle maestro.
"He's a miler, but he stays 2,000 metres, and that's exactly what you need to win the French Derby. He's a colt we've always really liked.
"Last year, he was our top chance for the Coventry Stakes, but at the time he was probably still too green.
"Over time, he toughened up, and we felt in the second half of the season that he deserved a run in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere."
No immediate plans have been pencilled in for Camille Pissarro, who has now enhanced his record to three wins and five placings in 10 starts.
"As for the rest of his programme, we're taking it race by race," said O'Brien.
"His owners will talk things through with the jockey, who will then get back to me."
Despite pairing up with Camille Passiro in eight of his 10 starts for two of his three wins, Moore deflected the praise to Soumillion, who, incidentally was aboard third-placed Detain for John and Thady Gosden.
"The race went very smoothly. I had a good draw, the pace wasn't crazy, but the horse was very relaxed," said Moore.
"When I asked him, he responded well. Christophe Soumillon taught me how to ride him."
The Arc Races were conceptualised by France Galop as a new circuit of eight marquee contests. The winners earn a wild card for the ultimate autumn challenge in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2,400m) at ParisLongchamp on Oct 5. FRANCE GALOP
