Look de Vega, victoire dans le Prix Du Jockey Club (Gr I) 2024. (Wikipedia Commons)
Shapes as O’Brien’s Latest G1 Prix du Jockey Club Hope
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Two jockeys will be behind the success of Camille Pissarro should Aidan O’Brien’s highly regarded contender win the G1 Prix du Jockey Club (2100m) on Sunday (1 June) at Chantilly.
O’Brien’s stable rider Ryan Moore partners the pick of O’Brien’s two runners who is only lining up in the Classic after a few words of wisdom from another jockey, Christophe Soumillon.
“Christophe rode him last time and the minute he came in he said that this should be his next race,” O’Brien explained this week after Camille Pissarro’s eye-catching third to stablemate Henri Matisse from a tricky outside draw in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas, 1600m) three weeks ago.
Soumillon, who has won the Prix du Jockey Club four times, won the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1400m) on Camille Pissarro on Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe Day last year and O’Brien reflected: “As a two-year-old, we weren’t sure that he would even get seven furlongs.
“But he obviously won on Arc Day with Christophe and he felt the French Derby was made for him.”
O’Brien, who won the 2021 Prix du Jockey Club with St Mark’s Basilica, also runs Trinity College in the race reduced from the traditional Derby distance of 2400m to 2100m in 2005.
But it is Camille Pissarro who excites O’Brien.
“His work has been great, and everything has been perfect since the French Guineas. We were very happy with that run. Christophe could be right, and he could be very exciting because he is a big horse and he has the scope and everything else to get better.”
Luck shone on Camille Pissarro on Thursday (29 May) when he was drawn favourably in stall one against the inside rail – six of the last ten Prix du Jockey Club winners have drawn five or less.
The home defence is led by Ridari, fifth in the French 2000 Guineas who will have to be every bit as good as his connections believe setting out from stall 11.
And Andre Fabre-trained Cualificar will have plenty of supporters despite his outside draw. William Buick’s mount is unbeaten in three starts this year, the last in one of the main recognised French Derby trials, the G3 Prix de Guiche (1800m) at Chantilly this month.
Sunday’s contest sees the French 2000 Guineas third (Camille Pissarro), fourth (Luther), fifth (Ridari), sixth (Detain) and 11th Heybetli all reoppose over this longer trip.
Father and son training duo John and Thady Gosden has booked the services of Soumillon for Detain, with Thady declaring: “Detain travelled back great from the Poulains and seems in good order. He took the experience well; he ran a nice race and was doing all of his best work late on. He shapes as if the step up to a mile and a quarter will suit him”.
Success for Luther would erase the pain felt by trainer Charlie Fellowes after Shes Perfect’s disqualification in the French 1000 Guineas.
