Henri Matisse battles for debut victory

Henri Matisse got off the mark at the first opportunity when taking the Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Maiden at the Curragh.

The Wootton Bassett colt, who is half brother to Tenebrism and Statuette, was making his debut under Ryan Moore and was sent off the 11-8 favourite.

Henri Matisse made a slightly slow start, racing at the rear of the field and although there were signs of greenness, he knuckled down to see off a challenge from Joseph O’Brien’s Cadogan and prevail by a short head.

“He’s a lovely bred horse, I think Joseph liked his horse as well,” said the winning trainer.

“He’ll improve a lot. He was babyish at home, mentally. Ryan nursed him as much as he could and gave him a lovely ride.

“He’ll be very happy if he wants to step up to seven too, he’s a lovely horse I’d say.”

When asked if he could be a Coventry horse, O’Brien added: “He could, it depends on how much he’s going to come on. Obviously if he was going he’d have to have another run as he was very babyish.

“Through the race he was very green, everything was happening slow. It was a lovely introduction.

“Ryan loved him though, he said he was lovely but he was babyish and green. When he really wanted him, he said he stuck his head out.

“He has a fast pedigree but what is unusual about Wootton Bassett is that he can get a fast horse as well as a middle-distance horse. They can do everything really, it will be interesting.”

The Listed Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Orby Stakes went the way of William Haggas’ Candleford, ridden by Moore to give him a double on the card.

The six-year-old was an 11-4 chance for the 12-furlong contest, in which he made all of the running to score by a length and a quarter.

“He runs well fresh and he looked really well today,” said Maureen Haggas.

“The girl who rides him at home all the time, Alison, has done a brilliant job. She’s ridden him for years and knows him inside out. She knows when he’s ready and she said he was today, so we were hopeful.

“He wants fast ground and hopefully we’re coming into a period of time where we might get some fast ground now.

“We’ll see how he is when he gets home. Even though he’s an older horse, bringing him across the water is a trip and he’ll need a few weeks and then William will map something out for him.”

Jan Brueghel made it a Moore treble and an Aidan O’Brien double when making remarkably light work of the McDonnells Bar Newbridge Irish EBF Maiden.

A 7-2 chance on debut, the three-year-old’s pedigree commanded attention ahead of the contest as he is by Galileo and out of Devoted To You, making him a full brother to 2019 Irish Derby winner Sovereign.

The colt did not run as a juvenile but made up for lost time when powering to an eight-length victory in an impressive success, with O’Brien looking to Goodwood as a possible option.

He said: “Ryan loved him. He just wasn’t straightforward to train, he took a bit of time, he’s a big horse.

“I asked Ryan if he would be ready for Ascot and he said he mightn’t be mentally as he doesn’t know enough, he’d never been at a track before.

“He said to go to a winner’s race with him and then go to the Gordon Stakes in Goodwood.

“I asked him if he’d stay further than a mile and a half and he said he will, but don’t go further yet. That’s all positive. He’s probably a fair horse and he has the pedigree to be a mile-and-a-half horse.”