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Ryan Moore gets it right in French Derby
Ryan Moore riding City Of Troy on their way to winning the 16:30 Betfred Derby on June 1, 2024, at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Britain.
Michael Tabor may have summed up with admirable simplicity the story of what had looked a fiendish Qatar Prix du Jockey Club beforehand, when he pointed to the fact that, in Camille Pissarro, Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore, he and the Coolmore partners had “the best horse, best trainer and best jockey”.
Magic Ryan Moore held on deep to Camille Pissarro before unleashing his superior finish, threading the narrowest of passages.
The son of Wootton Bassett repaid his jockey’s faith with an unrelenting burst, taking measures from the prominently ridden Cualificar, and, Detain, albeit marginally.
Ryan was as keen as ever to deflect praise, instead pointing to the role Christophe Soumillon had played in developing Camille Pissarro, always highly regarded at Ballydoyle but without a Group win to his name until the ten-time champion of France guided him successfully in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere.
The pace wasn’t mad - just very smooth. It was a very smart performance from a horse who just seems to be improving. The coin had landed wrongly for Camille in terms of a wide draw for the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, in which he and Christophe were third to Henri Matisse.
There is no rush to nominate targets for Camille who might aim at Sandown's, Coral-Eclipse. Victory at Chantilly in the first ‘Arc Races series, also guarantees Camille, a place for de l’Arc, although Aiden was diplomatically evasive when asked if that might be a consideration.
If there was an Arc contender among the principals then it might have been Andre Fabre's, Cualificar, who was largely ignored by Pari-Mutuel punters in favour of the once-raced Sinileo, but who chased the pace set by Bowmark and Trinity College and ran all the way to the line under William Buick.
Camille's blaster, following on from Henri Matisse's Longchamp triumph last month, was the second Classic success for a Coolmore colt named after an eminent French artist this season, and possibly augurs well for Delacroix in Saturday's Betfred Derby.
The 5-2 favourite is named after Eugene Delacroix, a leading romantic artist of the 19th century and often cited as a superior influence on the impressionist Camille Pissarro, born 32 years later in 1830.