A spate of racehorses on a recent winning streak have one thing in common—they’re named after titans of 19th- and 20th-century art. The champion trainer Aidan O’Brien and the owner-breeders Coolmore Stud have won races at the highest level with some very arty horses, all carrying the monikers of trailblazing French artists.
Last month their Irish-bred colt Henri Matisse won the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains (the French 2000 Guineas race) at Paris Longchamp. Then, over the weekend, jockey Ryan Moore powered to a convincing win in the French Derby (Prix du Jockey Club) on board a fine racer named Camille Pissarro after the Impressionist pioneer.
All eyes will now be on another Coolmore colt due to run in the Betfred Derby in Epsom, UK, on 7 June. This imposing animal goes by the name of (wait for it) Delacroix. Hopes will indeed be high for a horse named after the leading exponent of Romanticism in French painting.