'He's given a masterclass' - Aidan O’Brien hails Christophe Soumillon as second string Camille Pissarro strikes

The Longchamp love-in between Aidan O'Brien and Christophe Soumillon continued into a second day as the pair combined to win the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere with Camille Pissarro. 

Just as had been the case on Saturday with Grateful in the Prix de Royallieu, a really cool ride from the Belgian seemed to help the horse deliver a much improved performance.

A well-related colt who cost 1,250,000gns at Book 1 last year, Camille Pissarro had such a big reputation that he started favourite for the Marble Hill, the Coventry and the Gimcrack, but his form figures from those races ended up as 206. A close second in the sales race at the Leger meeting was a better effort, but he was available at 20-1 on Sunday morning before some late support.

"I think being produced very late was probably the key. Let him go to sleep," O'Brien said. "Christophe's given a masterclass, obviously.

"He loved him. He said he's done everything 100 per cent and he'll get a mile no problem next year."

O'Brien described Camille Pissarro as "a Guineas horse" and the juvenile has now been cut to a general 20-1 for next year's 2,000 Guineas, a race in which the trainer already has the strong favourite, The Lion In Winter.

We're unlikely to see Camille Pissarro again this season, the trainer pointing out this was his seventh outing of a campaign that began in April. "In fairness to him, he kept standing up to it.

"He is a big horse, so he's probably getting better and stronger," was O'Brien's response when asked about the horse's improved showing here. "We always thought the world of him." Laughing, he added: "I did such a bad job training him, probably. What a mess of him, I made!"

Camille Pissarro (third right) beats Rashabar (far left) in the Prix Jean-Luc LagardereCredit: Edward Whitaker

Soumillon won't hear a bad word about O'Brien, saying: "It's an honour to ride for the best trainer in the world. It doesn't matter if he has one, two, four or five in the race, you know you always have a chance."

O'Brien's more obvious chance in this Lagardere was with Henri Matisse, sent off the 13-10 favourite under Ryan Moore. Though he briefly threatened to get into the argument, he was a tired fifth at the line.

"He got a bad bump early," the trainer said. "We put the blinkers on him because he was timid and immature. I'd say that [bump] would have shocked him. I saw it happen and said, oh now we're in trouble. Don't lose the faith."

The Lagardere ended in a one-two for in-form trainers, as Rashabar was beaten just a neck for Brian Meehan, whose Jayarebe had won a Group 2 here on Saturday. The Manton trainer indicated Rashabar would return in the spring for the French Guineas. "I’m really proud of him, he’s one of the nicest horses I’ve trained."

Field Of Gold finished a close fourth. John Gosden said: "He is a big, strapping horse and very much a next-year horse."

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