Henri Matisse finishes best in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf

Henri Matisse 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 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 with Lake Victoria.

O’Brien now has 20 victories in the Breeder's Cup to tie D. Wayne Lukas for the most all time. Moore has 16.

“It’s incredible,” O'Brien said of tying Lukas's record. ”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.”

Dream On set a pressured pace while being hounded by Zulu Kingdom 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 who rallied from last to get third depsite breaking through the gate before the start.

Henri Matisse paid his backers $9.80 to win after stopping the timer in 1:34.48 for a mile on firm turf.

Stewards conducted an inquiry into the stretch run. While in close quarters with New Century, clipping heels after Seagulls Eleven drifted out into him while New Century drifted in slightly as well. Al Qudra stumbled, though remained on his feet. Jockey James Doyle, despite losing an iron, stayed in the irons and recovered his seat. Upon review, stewards made no change to the result. According to the statement made by announcer Larry Collmus, stewards ruled unanimously that Al Qudra did not have a clear path, meaning there was no grounds to disqualify another horse.

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 out of the Pivotal mare Immortal Verse.

“He was very easy today and did it beautifully,” Moore said. “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.”