‘I Was Pushing As Hard As Ryan Moore’ – Camille Pissarro’s Breeder On Emotional Success

[Wandering Eyes]

Camille Pissarro's breeder James Cloney has opened up on the emotion surrounding his most famous graduate's success in Sunday's French Derby and joked that he was pushing even harder than jockey Ryan Moore from his County Kilkenny farm. 

Camille Pissarro hails from Cloney's 'blue hen' Entreat, with the Pivotal mare having already produced Group 1 scorer Golden Horde along with further black-type performers Line Of Departure and Exhort. The feat is made all the more remarkable for the fact that Entreat was sourced for just 14,000gns and Cloney is convinced that her Classic-winning son has the makings of becoming a pretty important stallion prospect at Coolmore Stud upon the completion of his racing career. 

He said, “He's a bit unique. As a potential stallion for the future, doesn't he tick all of the boxes? He cost over a million pounds as a yearling, he won his maiden in April before going on and winning a Group 1 as a two-year-old. And now he's a Classic winner. I don't think you can get any better than that. And we know he has the looks, too – he's a big, strong horse. It's very exciting.”

Famously a Book 1 show-stopper at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2023 when selling to MV Magnier and White Birch Farm for 1.25 million gns, Camille Pissarro has gone from strength-to-strength for Aidan O'Brien. His French Derby success came off the back of a solid third-placed effort in the French Guineas, with Cloney convinced that 10 furlongs is the optimum trip for the colt. 

“There was a bit of jumping and dancing watching the race on Sunday,” he joked. “I think I might have been pushing him as hard as Ryan Moore was pushing him until he crossed the line! It's unbelievable. We were hopeful he'd do it but, when you look down through the racecard, you realise how competitive the race was. The [French] Guineas form came to the fore and I think in the final moments of that race we really saw the class that Aidan O'Brien had been seeing from him at home at Ballydoyle. 

“He was able to turn a switch and put the race to bed with ease. You'd have to think that there is even more to come from him as the season rolls on. I think you'd have to say that 10 furlongs could be his optimum. He stays well but he also has a sprinter's finish. He is a big-framed horse, so he is really only strengthening and maturing now.”

Along with Camille Pissarro and Golden Horde, Cloney and his father-in-law Michael Nolan are responsible for fellow Group 1 winner Dream Of Dreams. Despite working with only a handful of mares, a steady flow of top-notchers has been produced by this Kilkenny stud, which is being rewarded for being plucky rather than lucky. 

“It's absolutely unbelievable,” Cloney continued. “It's something else to have been able to create this from nothing, I suppose. This farm has produced three Group 1 winners now which is unheard of really. We are fortunate to have produced some very nice stock and hopefully there will be many more good horses, too. It was a dream to be able to put together a farm, then a stud farm and now we are starting to gather some quality mares and be able to go to the stallions we want to. It's remarkable.”

He added, “I use a phrase here myself, in that you've got to put yourself into a clickable position. You need to be in a position where something can go right for yourself. That's the amazing thing about this horse business, compared to every other farming enterprise, you achieve amazing results like this by simply putting yourself in a clickable position. Now, it can dramatically go the other way, but you need to be able to give yourself the opportunity. It's a brilliant industry to be involved in.”

And, looking ahead to the future, there could be even more to get excited about, with Entreat understood to have a belter of a Justify colt at foot. 

Cloney concluded, “We have a lovely colt foal by Justify out of the mare. An absolute cracker. There have been a good few calls from all around the world about him. It's an interesting proposition. The mare has just thrown pure class once again. He's a tall, scopey foal and is an exciting prospect. We're open to everything with him. All possibilities are open.”

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