Search for worthy successor to Galileo continues at Ballydoyle

Those three – Camille Pissarro, Henri Matisse, and Twain – along with Dewhurst runner-up Expanded form quite a formidable backbone to the stable’s Classic hopes. The Newmarket Guineas meeting takes place on the weekend of May 3, and the quartet make up half of Aidan O’Brien’s eight entries for the 2000 Guineas, which he has won a record ten times.

Speaking of the sire’s impact last season, and his future promise, O’Brien said: “He’s obviously a freak, Wootton Bassett. We had four Group 1 horses by him last year, and Joseph had one, out of not too big a crop. All the good colts this year are by him. It’s important, going to stud, that they are good at two and three. It doesn’t happen always. He was very good himself at two, but I don’t think he won at three.” 

Twain and Expanded boast similar profiles, having both been unraced until last October, and both been thrown in at the deep end for a Group 1 just days after winning their respective maidens. It proved to be within the capabilities of Twain, who won the Criterium International at Saint Cloud, but just a touch too much for Expanded, who came up a neck shy of Shadow Of Light in the Dewhurst.

Those efforts equally impressed their trainer.

“Really, what himself and Expanded did last year was very unusual,” said O’Brien. “The two of them came out late and after five or six days, both of them went back for Group 1s. They were massive runs out of both of them. Twain won in France and Expanded just got beaten in the Dewhurst.

“Poor Expanded got a raw deal because he was going into the Dewhurst for experience, second string behind The Lion In Winter, but then The Lion In Winter didn’t run and he got put into the front line.

“Twain has done very well physically. It ended up that way (soft ground) for both his runs, but he’d have no problem on good ground.” 

Relative to those two, stablemate Henri Matisse had a busy time at two, running six times, and winning four of them, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

“He’s very well. He’s a fast horse, likes fast ground, and he likes to come late. We’re very happy with him. What happened him last year is that we put blinkers on him in very bad ground in France and he got a bad bump early, and he got frightened. Obviously, he then won very well in America.

“In America, it’s a difficult thing to do, from a bad draw and being a long way back, but he still got there easily. He’s a horse with a lot of ability, and is a very good mover, so we wouldn’t be anxious to go back on soft ground with him.” 

Camille Pissarro struggled to add to his debut success until forging ahead late in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, also on his final start of the season.

“We always thought he was very good but he didn’t win a Group 1 until the very end (of his two-year-old campaign) so I’d say we got it wrong with him,” said O’Brien. ”He’s a fast horse, and we think a mile is as far as he’s going to go – and he’ll have to be ridden to get a mile.

“Christophe was very impressed with him in France. He won very nicely but I think we were riding him wrong and doing the wrong things with him. Now that we know him, he should be better this year. He’s a classy horse.” 

O’Brien’s The Lion In Winter, a son of Sea The Stars, was ante-post favourite for the Guineas, but that race is likely to come too soon for him.

“He’s in good shape. He took a little bit of time to come right, so he’s a little bit behind the others. He went to the Curragh last weekend and went well, but the work was easy, what he did.

“Whether he will make it in time for the Guineas or not I’m not sure. We’ll know in the next week or so, but if he doesn’t, he might be trained for something like the Dante and go straight to the Derby. He’s very well, but he’s just carrying a bit of condition so he might not make it. If he is to go to the Guineas, he’ll go straight there, as we won’t have time for a run.”