Henri Matisse by a neck in the Juvenile Turf (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
DEL MAR, Calif.— Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith et al’s Henri Matisse (IRE) ($9.80) rallied from far off the pace to post a neck victory over Iron Man Cal to win the 18th running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) on Friday at Del Mar.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Henri Matisse completed the mile over a firm turf course in 1:34.48. It was the second victory of the afternoon for O’Brien and Moore, who teamed to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) with Lake Victoria (IRE).
O’Brien now has 20 victories in the World Championships to tie D. Wayne Lukas for the most all time. Moore has 16.
Dream On set a pressured pace while being hounded by Zulu Kingdom (IRE) and Mentee as Henri Matisse raced 10th of 12 down the backside. On the far turn, Henri Matisse began picking off horses and swung wide into the stretch. He hit the front at mid-stretch and held off the late bid from Iron Man Cal who held second by a half-length over Aomori City (FR) who rallied from last to get third.
The victory was worth $520,000 and improved Henri Matisse’s earnings to $783,148 with a record of 6-4-1-0. Henri Matisse is a 2-year-old son of Wootton Bassett (GB) out of the Pivotal mare Immortal Verse (IRE).
Quotes:
Winning trainer Aiden O’Brien, Henri Matisse (IRE) – “It’s incredible (to get to 20 Breeders’ Cup wins and equal D. Wayne Lukas), obviously, and we all know what an unbelievably special man Wayne is. I’m honored to equal his record. He’s the most special man and always been such a help to us. He rang me during the week and he spoke to me about this track and the way to ride; what to do and what not to do. He was explaining about the Classic and the way he thought we should ride it, so we feel very grateful and privileged that he was so good to tell us everything; honored really.
“I remember Wayne (back in 2000 with Giant’s Causeway) came down to us and told us what to do about the pony and then just said, ’no, I’ll come down and (pony Giant’s Causeway) for you’ and that was back during Giant’s Causeway’s time—and ever since, he’s been such a help to us. We were just so grateful to him, really; what a special man.
“Ryan (Moore) thought that in France (in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere) that I obviously did the wrong thing, first, putting the blinkers on him and he was a little bit shy. He got a bad bump early and got a little bit of a fright in him. Then he had to come down through the background, so Ryan said to just put a line through that run. There was a good few things that went wrong that we thought we could forget about and we always thought he was a very good horse. He’s a Wootton Bassett and an unbelievable talent who can come from the back and quicken up and finish. Ryan gave him another beautiful ride. He’s a beautiful horse; very well-bred horse. These Wootton Bassetts get better every week, so it’s very exciting, really.
“I’m delighted for everybody. Everybody puts in so much work, day in and day out, to make it all happen. Obviously, tomorrow is another day, but I’m so delighted for everybody. It’s very difficult to get here and very competitive and it’s an unbelievable meeting. You have to come and feel it and sense it to see what it is like. The coverage all over the world is incredible and it’s so exciting. We feel honored, really, and I’m so delighted for everybody.”
Winning jockey Ryan Moore, Henri Matisse (IRE) – “He was very easy today and did it beautifully, we’ve been learning about him. He needed stepping up to a mile on a turning track on some nice ground helped him. We’ve just had to figure him out a little bit and I said to Aidan (O’Brien) before the race I thought he was by far the best horse in the race and he’s done it easily. He just traveled into it. I was wide on the bend but he just took me there very comfortably. At home we race a lot in straight lines so on the turn some horses appreciate that. Everyone does such an amazing job at home and back at the stud to get these horses here. I just had to keep him out of trouble and not mess it up. He’s showed today what an incredible horse he could be.”
Manager Partner Billy Koch, Little Red Feather Racing, second with Iron Man Cal – “You know, we had high hopes coming in. He can’t read the tote board. This horse has done everything we have asked of him. He is just a real cool horse. We are so excited. He looked like a winner until Henri Matisse … and he is unbelievable. Aidan O’Brien is unbelievable. To lose by a neck and to battle back the way he did. I thought that was really impressive. I could not be happier … I could be if he won! He ran super. When you run a race like that in the Breeders’ Cup and are facing the best horses in the world, the best 2-year-olds … I could not be happier.”
(Horse is named for former Baltimore Oriole Hall of Famer Cal Ripken)
“He is. This is Cal’s signature on the hat I have here. He made it for us, We are friends with Cal and we always hang with him at the Preakness. We decided to do something fun, and he delivered.”
Jockey Antonio Fresu, second with Iron Man Cal – “I thought [I was going to win]. We came home and I know the horse was a longshot, but we always [were] told that he’s a very nice horse. I like the way he’s been improving race by race. Obviously, Phil (D’Amato) and his team did a great job and today he was ready.
“Today the horse showed more maturity and I was able to jump and sit in a nice stalking position. I had a beautiful trip all the way around. The horse was loaded at the three-eighths so I just gave a squeeze getting him ready to take any gap that he could find. I just took it and he kicked home. The other horse came from the outside and he passed me, but he [Iron Man Cal] actually fought back and was coming back at him. I think the horse showed a lot of maturity and talent today. I have nothing to complain about because I had a beautiful trip.”
Trainer Charlie Appleby, third with Aomori City (IRE) – “Big run. Obviously breaking through early and we had the bad draw with Will (Buick on Aomori City). Don’t get me wrong, the winner was out wider. We dropped in there and came running late with a good, solid run. Obviously James (Doyle on Al Qudra) was a bit unlucky there and lucky to stay up. Well done to the winning team.”
Jockey William Buick, third with Aomori City (IRE) – “He ran super. It probably didn’t help that he hit the gate and broke through. He didn’t travel as well as I expected, but maybe that’s because he broke through the gate. It was a good run from a wide gate and we knew he was sitting on a good run. Maybe with a good draw and different gate situation, he could have won the race.”
