Given the Grand National is a week away the emerging flat season has an inevitable element of shadow boxing about it. But Aidan O’Brien rarely spars when it comes to the serious business of Group One colts, and he brings a pair of them back into action this weekend.
Camille Pissarro, winner of last season’s Prix Jean Luc Lagadere, even takes on older horses in Saturday’s Gladness Stakes at the Curragh, while 24 hours later the Breeders’ Cup hero Henri Matisse must concede weight to six rivals in Leopardstown’s Guineas Trial.
Both appear to be behind their stable companions Twain and Expanded in Ballydoyle’s pecking order for the 2000 Guineas in six weeks’ time. They are general 20/1 shots for Newmarket, and the French Guineas a week later may ultimately end up being their classic target.
History also illustrates that O’Brien’s preferred Guineas route is to go straight to Newmarket.
Delacroix 10/1 for Epsom Derby after impressive return to action in Ballysax
Dermot Weld unwraps a pair of classic prospects at Leopardstown’s first flat meeting of 2025
Aidan O’Brien pitches Group One stars Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro into weekend classic trials
Whip rules are blunt and convoluted, but they’re necessary for style of the times
But these are proven top-flight winning sons of Coolmore’s top sire Wootton Basset, worth a not inconsiderable fortune themselves as future stallion prospects. In such a business reputations don’t usually get frittered away lightly in undercooked rehearsals.
Camille Pissarro lining up in the Gladness is notable. The race that kicked off classic seasons of legends such as Nijinsky and El Gran Senor has become an older-horse option in more recent times and reduced to Listed status. Just a single three-year-old has won in over two decades.
Camille Pissarro’s stable companion Officer is the only other three-year-old taking on nine older horses, including the tough and hardy cross-channel raider Poet Master. He is a course and distance winner in last season’s Minstrel Stakes for which he must concede a penalty.
“He’s a horse who has wintered really well, he’s definitely strengthened physically from the winter. It’s not ideal going away that far for his first run of the season and I’m sure he’ll come on for it. But there is no seven-furlong race I can run him in here until the first weekend of May at Haydock, which seems ridiculous,” trainer Karl Burke said on Friday.
As well as Camille Pissarro, Ryan Moore will partner a couple of maidens on Saturday, with the newcomer Monkstown taking on diverse opposition ranging from the course runner-up Mathan to the 2023 Bumper champion A Dream To Share.
Saturday also sees round one of Britain’s flat campaign on turf at Doncaster where Tony Martin’s Orandi will try to become the first horse to complete the Irish-English Lincoln double in the same year.
Rossa Ryan rides the raider who will try to emulate Dermot Weld’s Saving Mercy who landed the historic mile handicap in 1984. The sole Irish hope will break from stall two in the 22-strong field.
Martin has a domestic runner at Sunday’s Downpatrick card which hosts its own Randox National of the “Ulster” kind.
The former Thyestes runner-up Dunboyne looked a transformed character on his first start for Ian Donoghue when scoring at 66/1 over hurdles earlier this month. If that transformation transfers over fences, a 127-rating, complete with James Smith’s 5lbs claim, could be lenient.
Nevertheless Sunday’s primary focus is on Leopardstown’s programme which has a proven record of unearthing future classic stars. The Ballylinch Stud Trial threw up a Guineas hero in Poetic Flare four years ago, and a field loaded with significant potential is set to line up this time.
Henri Matisse is the benchmark having thrived in the US last November with a smooth Breeders’ Cup success in the Juvenile Turf.
Arizona Blue found only compatriot Magnum Force too good in his own Breeders’ Cup start at Santa Anita. In contrast a rival like Hazdann is much more unexposed but beat a good horse on his maiden victory as a two-year-old.
The O’Brien team has a trio in the fillies Trial, although Exactly looks the stable pick. Being drawn widest of all in 13, though, is a negative.
Sunday’s other Group Three, the PW McGrath Ballysax, is one of the country’s traditional Derby trials where the Futurity runner-up Delacroix gives weight to his rivals.
They include Tiberius Thunder representing one of the flat game’s increasingly more influential operations AMO Racing. They won this with the 50/1 Dallas Star a year ago. He made it to Epsom but to little effect. His stable companion may prove a different matter.
The nature of this time of year though is that potential stars can emerge quickly from maidens. Sunday’s opening fillies maiden features a number of stellar pedigrees, none more so than the newcomer Tarima, a half-sister to the champion Tarnawa.
In other news a potential different kind of classic might be in the offing in next week’s Aintree Hurdle. Thursday’s highlight on day one of the Aintree festival has a dozen left in it after the latest acceptance stage including the stellar trio of Constitution Hill, Brighterdaysahead and Lossiemouth.
The latter missed Cheltenham’s Champion Hurdle in which Constitution Hill fell and Brighterdaysahead faded behind the shock winner Golden Ace. Constitution Hill was quickly installed an odds-on favourite to land a race he won in 2023.
