Tenebrism

Undefeated Tenebrism (Caravaggio) is the 11-4 early choice among 16 confirmations for Sunday's Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. Long-time ante-post favourite Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was ruled out of the fillies' Classic Sunday. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, the G1 Cheveley Park S. heroine will attempt to give the trainer his sixth win in the race in seven years. O'Brien may also be represented by maiden winners Toy (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Included among Irish-breds who are also possible to run Sunday are Group 3 winner Homeless...

Aidan O'Brien has outlined plans for some of his Classic hopes for the 2022 season and indicated that the dual group winners Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}) will head to Newmarket for the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas on Apr. 30. Luxembourg will bid to emulate his treble Classic-winning sire by claiming the Newmarket feature on his seasonal debut after winning the G1 Vertem Futurity at Doncaster at two. "Point Lonsdale worked in the same group as Luxembourg on Saturday and that was the first time...

Aidan O'Brien outlined plans after several members of his team galloped Saturday, chief among them G1 Futurity Trophy winner Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), undefeated in three starts at two, and MGSW Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who was last seen finishing second in the G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National last September. Campaigned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Westerberg, the pair are likely to reappear in the Apr. 30 G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. "Luxembourg was in the first lot and everything went very well," said...

Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Godolphin's Cartier champion 2-year-old colt, has earned further plaudits by topping the European 2-year-old classification, which was revealed on Wednesday. The unbeaten G1 National S. and G1 Dewhurst S. winner achieved a mark of 122, seven pounds clear of the next best juveniles. Bred by Jose Delmotte's Haras d'Haspel, Native Trail passed through the sales ring three times before reaching the racecourse. A €50,000 Arqana December Foal when bought by Sam Sangster, he was pinhooked for 67,000gns at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October...

No doubt about it, bringing Caravaggio to the Bluegrass when he had barely started in Europe was quite a gamble. Presumably, after all, much of the good work since done by his first crop, conceived and largely racing over the water, will be passing the notice of many Kentucky breeders. But I have a hunch that they may end up using him in a rather more sophisticated way than European commercial breeders, and that he may ultimately achieve a good deal more as a result. Not that anyone would have...

Westerberg, Coolmore and Merriebelle Stables' 2-year-old filly Tenebrism (Caravaggio) was the first runner for her freshman sire (by Scat Daddy), attaining 'TDN Rising Star' status in an instant when posting an impressive 3 3/4-length success in a Mar. 28 five-furlong Naas maiden, and notched another first for the now Ashford Stud incumbent with another taking performance on her comeback in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park S. at Newmarket. The March-foaled dark bay was under a patient ride through halfway and raced off the tempo in rear. Nudged along to close...

Young filly Tenebrism (f, 2, Caravaggio--Immortal Verse {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}), the dramatically fast winner of the first race at Naas on Mar. 28, carries a brilliant and astute name. "'Tenebrism', from Italian tenebroso (dark, gloomy, mysterious), also occasionally called 'dramatic illumination', is a style of painting using especially pronounced chiaroscuro, where there are violent contrasts of light and dark, and where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image," states Wikipedia. And who is generally credited with the invention of this technique? None other than Michelangelo Merisi, also known...

The first runner for her exciting first-season sire, Tenebrism (Caravaggio) also carried the mantle of Ballydoyle's first juvenile runner of 2021 into Sunday's five-furlong juvenile opener at Naas. Not that she comprehended the gravitas of the moment, but the manner in which the daughter of the high-class Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) dealt with the task in hand could not have been more pleasing for her high-profile connections. In readily dismissing her peers in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden staged on soft ground, she instantly set a lofty standard...