Los Angeles is set to lead the Ballydoyle assault on next Sunday’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – with Auguste Rodin also poised to be left in the race in case conditions at ParisLongchamp are quick.
Aidan O’Brien has won Europe’s richest middle-distance prize twice in the past with Dylan Thomas (2007) and Found (2016) and joining this year’s Irish Derby winner on the team sheet are Coronation Cup winner Luxembourg and last year’s St Leger hero Continuous.
However, O’Brien is keen to also give himself the option of adding Auguste Rodin to his squad of runners.
The six-time Group One winner is scheduled to bow out and head to stud after running in the Japan Cup later in the autumn, but a trip to France could serve as the ideal tune-up for his swansong if his favoured quick ground appears in the going description.
Auguste Rodin (left) was last seen in a titanic battle with Economics at Leopardstown (Healy Racing)
O’Brien said: “The plan is for Los Angeles to go, but Auguste Rodin has been kept on the go just in case the ground came up on the fast side, which it probably won’t.
“Last year I didn’t do it and it came up fast, so I said I won’t make the same mistake this time.
“He’ll probably be going straight to Japan, unless the ground is going to be quick at Longchamp.
“The plan is for Continuous to go and probably Luxembourg.”
Two Ballydoyle inmates that will not be in the Arc reckoning are star stayer Kyprios and Nassau Stakes winner Opera Singer.
Kyprios is the undoubted star of the staying division (Andrew Matthews/PA)
The former will instead attempt to recreate his astonishing Prix du Cadran success of two years ago, while Opera Singer will return to 10 furlongs and go for the Prix de l’Opera after struggling over a mile and a half in the Prix Vermeille.
“Kyprios will go for the Cadran,” continued O’Brien.
“If Opera Singer goes it will probably be for the mile-and-a-quarter fillies’ race.”
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Dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin is set to retire to stud following a final run in the Japan Cup in November.
The son of Deep Impact is a six-times Group/Grade One winner, landing the Futurity Trophy as a juvenile before securing Derby glory at both and Epsom and the Curragh last year.
He subsequently claimed the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf at three before winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier this summer.
It is fitting he will return to the country in which his sire made his name for his final on-track appearance before commencing stallion duties for the 2025 season at Coolmore’s base in Ireland.
Auguste Rodin beat King Of Steel at Epsom (Tim Goode/PA)
“Auguste Rodin is out of Rhododendron, one of the best Galileo mares, and by Deep Impact, Japan’s best stallion,” said Aidan O’Brien, who has overseen the colt’s career.
“He connects two of the most powerful breeding lines in the world. He has been a pleasure and a privilege to train.
“He is just a very unique horse and we’re very excited to see what he will achieve at stud. We will be supporting him with our own mares.”
Auguste Rodin has been ridden in all but one of his races by Ryan Moore, who added: “He’s been an unbelievable horse for us. We have always thought the world of him. He has everything you’d want.
“He has so much pace. He could kill horses for speed, and he was able to stretch that out over 12 furlongs. Horses like him are so hard to find. An incredible horse.”
Coolmore’s MV Magnier is excited to see Auguste Rodin join the stallion ranks, rating him alongside some of the very best sires to stand at the stud.
Auguste Rodin was a top-level winner at Ascot in June (David Davies/PA)
He said: “Auguste Rodin is an exceptional racehorse and stallion prospect with the blend of class, speed and pedigree that only the best possess.
“He is a very special horse for us, and I truly believe he ranks up there with the best middle-distance racehorses and sires that we have stood here before him like Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, Montjeu, Caerleon and Camelot.
“Physically he fills the eye so well as he has extra quality and movement so I can’t wait to see his first crop in Ballydoyle in 2028. We are going to do all we can to give him the best possible opportunity to follow in his illustrious predecessor’s footsteps.”
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It will take a special horse to end Aidan O’Brien’s stranglehold on the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, but Tom Marquand is “extremely excited” to partner the imposing Economics when he faces the acid test of his credentials on Saturday.
William Haggas’ Night Of Thunder colt confirmed the promise of his dazzling Dante Stakes with a polished performance in the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville.
Economics now takes the leap into both deep waters and enemy territory for the Leopardstown feature, with big-race pilot Marquand relishing what will be the toughest assignment of his mount’s career so far.
Marquand said: “I’m extremely excited, this has been the plan for a little while. France was obviously going to be the deciding factor if this stayed the plan or changed, but he won very well in Deauville and looked as good as we were all hoping he would be.
“I felt he was a lot more mature and he felt more effective in his stride. When he was motoring up to the line he was still extending, whereas at York once he got into top gear he was having a little wobble around and was quite immature still.
“Hopefully he will have taken another step forward from France, which I think he will have done, and there’s not much else to say other than it’s exciting and given us all something great to look forward to.”
He went on: “I’ve been lucky to ride some really good horses, but most of the good horses I have come across have been older horses where there is a general hole for those middle-distance types.
“For potential, though, he is the most exciting horse I have been involved with. We’re coming to the end of his three-year-old campaign and we still don’t really know what he is which is the exciting bit.”
Economics after winning at Newbury earlier this year (PA)
This venture to the Irish capital is leg one of an ambitious ‘Champion Stakes double’ Economics is seeking this autumn, with the Somerville Lodge runner also slated to run at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day.
Only six horses have won both races in the same year and Marquand is well aware the might of Ballydoyle is standing in the way of the first hurdle, as his charge attempts to become the first British-trained winner since Roaring Lion in 2018.
“It’s a tough race, but it’s the Irish Champion Stakes, it’s meant to be,” continued Marquand.
“It’s no easy task by any means to go over to Ireland and win, but some others have been over in the past and managed it. He will need to be every bit as good as we hope he is – and maybe even a little bit more to win.
“It’s fantastic for Sheikh Isa and his family to have a horse in the race that they sponsor. They put so much into racing and to be rewarded with a horse with a real live chance in a race they have heavily invested in is great.”
Aidan O’Brien has a great record in this race (Damien Eagers/PA)
O’Brien has won this a record 12 times and the master of Ballydoyle saddles half the field as he seeks to extend his winning run to six straight years.
His two most recent winners, Luxembourg and Auguste Rodin, take part once again, and are joined by Irish Derby winner Los Angeles and Hans Andersen.
On Los Angeles, O’Brien said: “It will be interesting. He’s won around Leopardstown and it was soft ground when he won, but he’s a deceiving horse as he’s lazy and when he gets the front he doesn’t do much, so it’s just hard to assess him.
“For us, we’ll learn a lot about him in this race because there’ll be a strong, even pace and we will learn what kind of middle-distance type horse he’s going to be.”
Auguste Rodin bounced back from King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes disappointment when outbattling Luxembourg 12 months ago and O’Brien is backing the defending champion to return to his very best after hitting another bump in the road at Ascot in late July.
Auguste Rodin (left) and Luxembourg fight out the finish to last year’s Irish Champion Stakes (Damien Eagers/PA)
“He’s one of those horses who just about gets a mile and a half, but over a mile and a quarter he has loads of class,” O’Brien told Betfred TV.
“We’ve been very happy with him since Ascot, his work has been very good. He worked with a lot of zest the last day and we’re looking forward to seeing him run again.”
There is an international flavour to the contest provided by Japanese Arc hopeful Shin Emperor who will tune-up for ParisLongchamp by trying to add another major overseas prize to his handler Yoshito Yahagi’s stellar CV.
Along with Economics, Clive Cox’s Ghostwriter and Karl Burke’s Royal Rhyme will form the British raiding party having finished third and sixth respectively behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International Stakes.
Ghostwriter has been consistent all season (Tim Goode/PA)
For Ghostwriter, that York third was the latest strong performance in an excellent campaign and despite yet to gain the victory his efforts have deserved, his reputation is yet to be diminished.
“He’s ran very consistently right from the very beginning of the season,” said Cox.
“He continues to please me at home, his well-being and mannerisms show he’s in excellent form with himself. He’s run admirably against City Of Troy throughout this season, especially in his last run at York.”
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Los Angeles appears increasingly likely to join stablemates Auguste Rodin and Luxembourg in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, the feature race on day one of Irish Champions Festival weekend.
Auguste Rodin denied Luxembourg back-to-back wins in the Leopardstown showpiece 12 months ago, but for the second year in succession the son of Deep Impact will be on a recovery mission as he looks to put a disappointing display in the King George at Ascot behind him.
Los Angeles, on the other hand, is on the crest of a wave, having won the Irish Derby and the Great Voltigeur since placing third behind Ballydoyle superstar City Of Troy in the Derby at Epsom.
While York’s Great Voltigeur is traditionally a St Leger trial, trainer Aidan O’Brien is favouring a step back in trip rather than up for the son of Camelot ahead of a potential tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The @SkyBet Great Voltigeur Stakes goes the way of Los Angeles, who fends off stablemate Illinois and King's Gambit to win! 🥇
“It looks like at the moment Los Angeles is going to run. We had it in our head going to York that we might go that way and that was the reason for doing it,” he said on Monday.
“We thought he’s the kind of horse that could finish in the first three, four or five in a (Irish) Champion Stakes and could go onto an Arc. That’s what we still think and if the ground got soft in France he’d have no problem with that.
“Obviously we were delighted with his run in York. We could go to the Leger with him, but we have three others that look like real Leger horses (Illinois, Jan Brueghel and Grosvenor Square) that will get the trip very well and we didn’t think that he needs to go that trip.
“It definitely won’t do him any harm to run over a mile and a quarter and we’ll learn a lot about him. He could be an Arc horse and I’d say there’s no doubt he’ll stay in training next year.”
Auguste Rodin will be on a recovery mission in the Irish Champion Stakes (Brian Lawless/PA)
O’Brien blamed underfoot conditions for Auguste Rodin’s below-par effort in the King George and is confident he is back firing on all cylinders ahead of the defence of his Leopardstown crown.
“He loves fast ground and his last bit of work was excellent, he showed a lot of zest in it. He went by his lead horse very easy, whereas usually he wouldn’t at that stage of the work. He was very confident and it was a bit different,” he said.
“The plan is to go to Leopardstown and then go to Japan after it. We think he’s a mile-and-a-quarter horse that gets a mile and a half, but he doesn’t want any further than that. He’s a very slick horse who travels very well and does everything very easy.”
Reflecting on his Ascot defeat, O’Brien added: “I felt when I walked the track the ground was soft on the inside. I made a bad decision, I should have discussed it with the lads and we should have got out off it. We made the decision to stay in, he got trapped down on the rail behind the pace and we probably turned it into a mile and six race – it was very tough.
“We felt he was on the worst of it (ground), I’m not trying to make excuses but that’s what we felt and the first three all came from the back and wide off the bad ground. They were all good enough reasons for us for the horse to run disappointing.”
O’Brien expects Ryan Moore to keep the faith in Auguste Rodin on Saturday week, with riding plans for Los Angeles and Luxembourg to be made nearer the time.
He added: “If he (Auguste Rodin) runs I’d imagine Ryan will ride him. I suppose if the ground got soft everything might change, but I’d imagine he will ride him.
“Luxembourg is a very consistent, strong horse. He’ll go forward – over a mile and a quarter he doesn’t mind making the running and you have to follow him because he won’t be stopping.”
Detailing some of his other plans for the two days, O’Brien confirmed Ylang Ylang as his likely representative in Leopardstown’s Matron Stakes, while star stayer Kyprios will look to win his second Irish St Leger at the Curragh the following afternoon.
Henri Matisse winning the Futurity Stakes at the Curragh (Brian Lawless/PA)
Unbeaten juvenile Henri Matisse is set to carry the stable’s hopes in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, with Acomb Stakes-winning stablemate The Lion In Winter – ante-post favourite for next year’s 2000 Guineas and Derby – more likely to wait for the Goffs Million on September 28.
“That (National Stakes) was always the plan for Henri Matisse and the lads will decide whether the horse that won in York will run or not, but he’s still there,” said O’Brien.
“If he doesn’t go there he’ll go to the Goffs. He’s being kept on the boil for the National Stakes, but the plan is that he’ll go to the Million.”
Frankel fillies Bedtime Story and Lake Victoria are both under consideration for the Moyglare Stud Stakes, with Fairy Godmother instead being saved for the Cheveley Park at Newmarket.
O’Brien will also have one eye on events in France, with Opera Singer set to test her Arc claims in the Prix Vermeille.
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Aidan O’Brien feels tactics may have also played a hand in Auguste Rodin’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes defeat, along with the ground.
O’Brien voiced some concerns following the race on Saturday that the going was softer than the officially described good to firm.
In the immediate aftermath, the record-breaking Ballydoyle handler said: “When we walked the track, we were very worried then. It was good, good to soft in places. Nowhere was it good to firm and it was cut up on the rails, it was full of sand.”
He felt that did not suit the son of Deep Impact who, despite winning six Group Ones, has also severely disappointed on occasions, including in the King George 12 months ago.
“Auguste Rodin is an incredible, classy horse, he’s not a down-and-dirty street fighter, he never was, he’s all class,” said O’Brien on Tuesday.
“In the race, he got trapped down the inside on bad ground where he was. We know he is a mile-and-a-quarter horse that gets a mile and a half, but he’s not a grueller.
“What I think happened was we put a strong pace on, which we were always going to do. The ground was well watered inside and had sand put in it, so it rode much slower than we thought it would.
“When I walked the track, I had a thing in my head, maybe we should keep out of the ground altogether. Then, in the race before, the horse went around and won on the rail, so we decided we couldn’t do that.
“Ryan (Moore) ended up on the rail with William (Buick, on Rebel’s Romance) on his outside and they were tight. The position he ended up in, with the sand coming back in his face, the slowish ground, he ran out of stamina.”
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Aidan O’Brien questioned the advertised going after Auguste Rodin was a beaten favourite in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes for the second year in a row.
It looked like the son of Deep Impact had erased his Ascot demons when winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at the Royal meeting, but his King George hoodoo remains after he could finish only fifth as the 7-4 market leader.
With his best performances coming on quick ground, forecast conditions looked perfect for the multiple Group One scorer to showcase his top form en route to the Japan Cup.
However, he was beaten with over a furlong still to run, with O’Brien left to question the underfoot conditions following his earlier walk of the course.
O’Brien said: “When we walked the track, we were very worried then. It was good, good to soft in places. Nowhere was it good to firm and it was cut up on the rails, it was full of sand.
“We knew we had no choice, that’s where we were, we had to go down there – and with the benefit of hindsight, we should have come off the bad ground and out onto the quicker ground.
“That’s the way it is and that’s the way it fell for us today. Listen, there will be other days.
“The plan was to run here and go on to the Japan Cup, but when we walked the track, we were worried. We were going to go to the Japan Cup and maybe give him a run in between somewhere, so we will see how he is and what the lads want to do.”
It was left to Ralph Beckett’s Bluestocking to fill the position of bridesmaid to runaway French raider Goliath and connections could now begin dreaming of trips to Paris later in the year, having followed up her maiden Group One win in the Pretty Polly Stakes with this brave effort in defeat.
“She ran an absolute stormer, we’re over the moon and she’s beaten some proper horses,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager of owners Juddmonte.
“It’s a great run and congratulations to Francis with the winner, his horse was awesome today.
Trainer Ralph Beckett (John Walton/PA).
“It was a breakneck pace from start to finish, she was able to relax and Rossa (Ryan) was able to get her into a nice position and we knew she would finish off well – she did, but there was one too good for us today.
“We’ll just see how she is and that is two hard races in a month now. Ralph will see how she comes out of it and races like the Yorkshire Oaks, Prix Vermeille and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are all on the cards – and we’ll let her tell us where she wants to go.
“In fairness, Ralph has done a remarkable job with her and Rossa gets on so well with her and everything we hoped she would become, she has become, so it is great.”
Meanwhile, it appears Rebel’s Romance will be back on the road after Charlie Appleby’s globetrotting six-year-old finished an honourable third in his quest to land a first Group One victory on home soil.
“It was a solid run again and realistically, on some paper form, this is the strongest depth of race he has been in,” said Appleby.
“Will (Buick) said he got a great run round there and he’s gone to win his race and found the length he would normally find, but there are younger, potentially classier horses coming over the top of you nowadays.
Goliath was an impressive winner of the King George (Steven Paston/PA).
“In respects to where we go, we will be back on our travels, needless to say, with a horse who maintains plenty of enthusiasm to be competing at the top level. There are going to be opportunities abroad for him and that was a solid run against some of the best he will have faced for a few years.
“He might join the American team or he might go to Germany and then to the (Hong Kong) Vase.”
In response to O’Brien’s earlier comments about the ground, clerk of the course Chris Stickels said: “The times don’t indicate that (it is good, good to soft) from the round course.
“The times indicate it is as described on the round course. On the straight course, the times have indicated more like good ground.
“It was a fast time in the King George and the Valiant time also indicated a mixture of good to firm and good ground.
“We did put 3mm of water on last night, so yes, it was watered, but I don’t think the going description is vastly inaccurate.”
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Auguste Rodin will bid for King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes redemption at Ascot on Saturday, where he could also set up a tantalising tilt at the Japan Cup.
There is no doubting the star quality of Aidan O’Brien’s four-year-old, who has dazzled on numerous occasions throughout his career and boasts six Group One triumphs.
However, one major blip came when sent off favourite in this very race 12 months ago, where he trailed in last of the 10 runners in the hands of Ryan Moore.
Auguste Rodin winning the Irish Champion Stakes last September (Damien Eagers/PA)
He somewhat proved that was only a minor setback by going on to score in both the Irish Champion Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Turf at the back end of the season, with O’Brien putting his Ascot defeat down to both ground conditions and the instructions he gave his jockey.
The Ballydoyle handler said: “Last year, it was soft ground and we probably held him up too much.
“When Ryan felt he wasn’t going to win, he just eased him back out of it. Ryan does that sometimes and his run was a lot better than it looked, he was thinking of the next day. But he came out of the race very well.”
Auguste Rodin flopped again in March’s Dubai Sheema Classic but after a solid Tattersalls Gold Cup second, he went some way to erasing any Ascot demons when getting off the mark at four with a terrific display in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at the Royal meeting.
A moment for the history books: Aidan O’Brien has achieved his 400th Group 1 win with AUGUSTE RODIN in The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes! Congratulations to Ryan Moore and bravo to all the Coolmore Partners. #RoyalAscotpic.twitter.com/CEqjXLlZtx
The Coolmore team are already eyeing taking the son of Deep Impact back to his father’s homeland for a shot at the Japan Cup.
“We’re very happy with him. The plan was always to go to Ascot after the Prince of Wales’s Stakes,” continued O’Brien.
“He will have one more run at the King George. We may go somewhere after that, but the ultimate goal is to get him to the Japan Cup, which would be very exciting.”
Joining Auguste Rodin on the Ballydoyle teamsheet is Coronation Cup scorer Luxembourg – who will attempt to better last year’s fourth in this event – with Hans Andersen also making the trip from Tipperary.
Luxembourg winning at Epsom (Mike Egerton/PA)
“Luxembourg, we’re very happy with him,” added O’Brien. “He won the Coronation Cup over a mile and a half and we thought it would suit him well. He’s in very good form.”
Like Auguste Rodin, Charlie Appleby’s Rebel’s Romance is on the Breeders’ Cup Turf roll of honour and the globetrotting star attempts to not only register a first top-level success on home soil, but also extend a four-race winning run, having excelled at both Meydan and Sha Tin in his most recent outings.
The Moulton Paddocks handler got his hands on this trophy in 2021 with Adayar and told www.godolphin.com: “It’s great to be part of such a historic race. There looks to be plenty of strength in depth in this year’s renewal, but we are very happy with Rebel’s Romance.
“He has earned his reputation on the international stage, and the only real omission on his CV is a Group One win in England. This looks a decent opportunity to fill that gap and he has come out of Hong Kong in great shape.
Rebel’s Romance after his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (PA)
“Rebel’s Romance is a very uncomplicated horse these days and a true professional. It has been a faultless campaign so far and we feel he is a big player here.”
Adding further intrigue to the contest is Ralph Beckett’s Bluestocking, the only filly in the race, and a contender riding the crest of the wave after notching her first Group One success in the Pretty Polly Stakes – a victory which booked her ticket to this red-hot event.
“It’s the King George and they are the best of the best,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“Auguste Rodin and Rebel’s Romance are both top class and Luxemburg is a Group One winner on his last start, there is no shortage in quality from top to bottom. It’s going to be a top renewal and it’s nice to have a filly good enough to partake in it.
Bluestocking winning the Cairn Community Games Pretty Polly Stakes (Damien Eagers/PA)
“She’s definitely matured a lot and last year, in fairness, she was probably a little weak. She was gallant in her efforts, but probably just had a bit of weakness, which wasn’t able to carry her through the line.
“This year, she has strengthened and Ralph has been very happy with her, she worked very well last Saturday and I think we’re in a good place, so hopefully we see that on Saturday.”
Francis-Henri Graffard’s French raider Goliath was second in the Hardwicke Stakes over track and trip last month and will have the assistance of Christophe Soumillon seeking to go one better, while third on that occasion was John and Thady Gosden’s Middle Earth, who is also in the mix.
His jockey Oisin Murphy felt the Australia-bound son of Roaring Lion was caught out by the lack of pace in that Group Two event, but believes he has the ideal spot in stall four to play a major part this time.
Middle Earth after winning at Newbury (PA)
He said: “Middle Earth was caught out by a slow pace in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, I should have tried to get more forward on him.
“He doesn’t break that well but I have a lovely draw alongside Rebel’s Romance and when looking at the race make-up, I thought Rebel’s Romance and Auguste Rodin would be towards the front end.
“Hopefully, I can get close to them throughout the race and although he has plenty to find on ratings, he is a horse who still has plenty of improvement in him.”
Middle Earth’s owners Qatar Racing also have an interest in David Menuisier’s Irish Derby runner-up Sunway, who is the sole three-year-old in the contest representing the Classic generation.
Sunway (right) running on to finish second in the Irish Derby (Damien Eagers/PA)
“It seems to be the trend these days that less and less three-year-olds run in the race, but you have to try them against older horses some time and they get an 11lb allowance,” said the Sussex-based Frenchman ahead of this British Champion Series contest.
“This is only the second race for them this summer, and a three-year-old won the first of them (City Of Troy in the Eclipse), so it’s doable.
“Sunway was possibly caught in traffic a bit at a crucial stage in Ireland, but we came back from there really chuffed because he’d vindicated what we thought of him, not thinking we were unlucky in the way Tamfana was in the 1000 Guineas.
“It took him a while to come to himself this season, and I’m not sure why, but he was a different horse already in the Prix du Jockey Club, where he nearly fell over coming out of the stalls, and the faster ground in Ireland worked in his favour, as I think he thrives on quick conditions and in fast-run races, even though he won on testing ground last year.
“Having taken so long to come to himself, I didn’t want to stop, and he came out of Ireland absolutely buzzing – kicking and bucking as if it hadn’t taken too much out of him. All the lights are green.”
William Haggas’ Dubai Honour completes the field, having won over this trip for the first time in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last month.
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Auguste Rodin heads a high-class field of nine runners declared for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
Bitterly disappointing in this race 12 months ago having won the Derby and the Irish equivalent, he bounced back to claim the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Aidan O’Brien’s charge was last seen winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at the Royal meeting and will be a hot favourite to follow up on his return to Berkshire this weekend.
The Deep Impact colt is joined by his Coronation Cup-winning stablemate Luxembourg, as well as Hans Anderson, but O’Brien has decided against saddling St Leger winner Continuous and Point Lonsdale.
High on the list of opposition is the Charlie Appleby-trained Rebel’s Romance, himself a Breeders’ Cup Turf winner. Also on his CV is the Dubai Sheema Classic – in which Auguste Rodin was last – and Hong Kong’s Champions & Chater Cup.
Top-notch filly Bluestocking is set to take her chance for Ralph Beckett and Juddmonte, having got off the mark at Group One level in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
Bluestocking (right) winning at the Curragh (Damien Eagers/PA)
David Menuisier’s Irish Derby runner-up Sunway represents the Classic generation, with French interest coming in the shape of Hardwicke Stakes second Goliath for Francis-Henri Graffard.
Further representing the Hardwicke form is John and Thady Gosden’s third-placed Middle Earth, while William Haggas will saddle his Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud victor Dubai Honour.
Middle Earth carries the colours of Qatar Racing, who are also part-owners of Sunway.
Racing manager David Redvers feels Middle Earth is capable of better than he showed in the Hardwicke and is excited to see how he fares at the top level this weekend.
Middle Earth and Oisin Murphy after winning at Newbury in May (Steven Paston/PA)
“There was no pace in the race at Ascot at all and he missed the break and that counted against him. They all quickened up at the same time and he was having to make up ground when everything else was accelerating, so it just didn’t work,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“Immediately after the race, John Gosden said he was really looking forward to the King George. He felt we’d see a proper running from the horse there, so that’s what we’re doing.
“It’s just (a question of) whether or not he’s good enough. Apart from in the Hardwicke, every time he’s run on good or better ground, he’s looked a very serious horse.
“What we know of his ability gives him a very strong outside chance and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing him run.”
Of Sunway, Redvers added: “He’s a very good horse and he’s a horse that’s clearly on the improve.
“He’s been very well brought along by David and we’re very much looking forward to seeing him, as the sole three-year-old in the race.
“It’s a very tough contest and who knows how the generational clash will work out? It’s rather disappointing that there aren’t more three-year-olds taking on the older horses, but we’re looking forward to a good run.”
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Auguste Rodin heads 11 confirmations for Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes.
Last year’s dual Derby and Irish Champion Stakes hero finished a bitterly disappointing last of 10 in Ascot’s midsummer highlight 12 months ago, but will be a hot favourite to set the record straight this weekend off the back of victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at the royal meeting last month.
The six-time Group One winner is one of five remaining contenders for trainer Aidan O’Brien, with Coronation Cup hero Luxembourg, Continuous, Hans Anderson and Point Lonsdale all standing their ground.
The two horses rated the biggest threat to Auguste Rodin by bookmakers are Ralph Beckett’s top-class mare Bluestocking and Charlie Appleby’s globetrotter Rebel’s Romance.
Bluestocking has made a flying start to her campaign by winning the Middleton Stakes at York and the Pretty Polly in Ireland, while Rebel’s Romance is set to return to home soil following high-profile wins in Qatar, Dubai and Hong Kong earlier in the year.
The only three-year-old in the field is David Menuisier’s Sunway, who filled the runner-up spot behind the O’Brien-trained Los Angeles in the Irish Derby a month ago.
The William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour, John and Thady Gosden’s Middle Earth and Francis-Henri Graffard’s French raider Goliath complete the potential line-up.
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Aidan O’Brien has reported Auguste Rodin firmly on target for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
The dual Derby winner disappointed in the midsummer mile-and-a-half championship 12 months ago, but he bounced back in style to add the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf to his CV.
The son of Deep Impact was last seen furthering his glittering record in the 10-furlong Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, and now goes back up in trip at the weekend.
The Prince of Wales presents Aidan O’Brien with a memento marking his 400th top-level winner (David Davies/PA)
“He’s super and that’s the plan. He’s in good form and everything has been good with him since Ascot,” said O’Brien, for whom the Prince of Wales’s win was a 400th at Group or Grade One level.
“Luxembourg is the same, everything is good with him. We also have Continuous there as well.”
O’Brien also had news of Henry Longfellow, who is set for a rematch with his narrow St James’s Palace Stakes conqueror Rosallion in the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on July 31.
He added: “That’s the plan at the moment and everything is good with him at the moment.”
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The Japan Cup has emerged as an end-of-year option for the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin, who will be seen next in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Last year’s Derby hero started his four-year-old season up at a mile and a half in Meydan, but has dropped back to 10 furlongs the last twice, adding the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot to the Irish Champion Stakes he won over a mile and a quarter last year.
Such was the impressive nature of his success at the Royal meeting, connections would have been fully entitled to remain at that winning trip for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
However, with the lure of becoming the first Derby winner since Golden Horn in 2015 to win the Eclipse, it was City Of Troy who got the nod to head to Sandown from Ballydoyle, with Auguste Rodin booked for a return to both 12 furlongs and Ascot later this month.
A moment for the history books: Aidan O’Brien has achieved his 400th Group 1 win with AUGUSTE RODIN in The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes! Congratulations to Ryan Moore and bravo to all the Coolmore Partners. #RoyalAscotpic.twitter.com/CEqjXLlZtx
O’Brien said: “I suppose the Eclipse did come under consideration, but the lads make the plans about what they would like to do with them, and with Auguste Rodin he has won over a mile and a half last year and is an older horse, he’s had three runs now and two runs before Ascot.
“Ascot was his first big-race target of the year we felt and there was always the possibility that if it did go well we would go back to Ascot for the King George.
“Obviously the Eclipse is a really prestigious race for a three-year-old and there was always the possibility if it did go right in the Derby, City Of Troy would go to the Eclipse to take on the older horses and for us to learn a little bit more about the horse and for the horse to learn a bit more as well.
“I suppose Auguste Rodin definitely would have been in the mix for the Eclipse, but it looks the right fit to go back to Ascot for the King George with him and the lads obviously felt it was the right call to go with City Of Troy in the Eclipse.”
Separating Coolmore’s two most recent Epsom heroes does not come easy when both bring such champion qualities to the table, with both having their name mentioned in the same breath for the Breeders’ Cup Classic over the course of the last year.
Ryan Moore and Auguste Rodin after the Breeders’ Cup (PA)
But having already enjoyed success at the end-of-season championships in the Turf in 2023, Auguste Rodin – a son of the late Japanese superstar Deep Imapct – could be tasked with breaking O’Brien’s duck in the Japan Cup later in the year, leaving the road to Del Mar clear for his stablemate.
“They both have different options for the second half of the season and Auguste Rodin could be a Japan Cup horse,” continued O’Brien.
“He has won at the Breeders’ Cup already and maybe the lads might do that and maybe City Of Troy could be a horse for the Classic.
“They like to play all their cards differently to suit their horses and at the same time they love watching racing and going racing, so they try to spread them out.”
City Of Troy’s route to Del Mar could include a trip to York next month or a first outing of the year on home soil, while the master of Ballydoyle is in no rush to expose the all-conquering son of Justify to dirt before a possible run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, with a trip to Southwell mooted to garner experience on a similar surface.
City Of Troy has been earmarked as a Breeders’ Cup Classic candidate (John Walton/PA)
“I suppose the leap after this race would have to be either the Irish Champion Stakes or the Juddmonte International and I would imagine the lads would be looking at those races, without knowing or discussing what they are thinking,” added O’Brien.
“I would hope we keep him racing in this part of the world for as long as we can and I just feel he is going to be a very important horse to European pedigrees if we can keep him to this part of the world.
“We’ve had horses just beaten in the Classic before, Declaration Of War and Giant’s Causeway, and they never went over for a dirt race before that. We took them to Southwell for a gallop and I know the surface has changed there now, it’s Tapeta and a bit different to Polytrack.
“I would hope if the Eclipse went well, it would be another race and if we decide to go to America then maybe we give him a day out at Southwell or something. None of that is written in stone what the lads are thinking, but that’s what is going on in our heads at the minute.”
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A landmark occasion requires a special horse, and when it mattered most, Auguste Rodin delivered in style as Aidan O’Brien masterfully saddled his 400th Group/Grade One winner on the Flat on day two at Royal Ascot.
If you are going to shatter another glass ceiling, then there is no finer place to do it than in one of the biggest races during the biggest week in the racing calendar.
And in Auguste Rodin, O’Brien had an ally that perhaps exemplifies his training talents better than any other in recent history.
He bounced back from Guineas disappointment to win the Derby, while a summer blip at this very track in the King George was quickly erased in the Irish Champion Stakes and at the Breeders’ Cup.
Auguste Rodin showed all his class in victory (David Davies/PA)
Now, early-season reversals at both Meydan and the Curragh are long forgotten as he struck in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, on the most regal stage of all.
The son of Deep Impact runs in the colours of Michael Tabor, who is no stranger to leading in big-race winners trained by O’Brien, but he was in no doubt about the quality of the latest to bear his famous orange and blue silks.
“He throws in the occasional wobbly, as we all know, I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but he’s a special horse,” said Tabor.
Auguste Rodin back to his best to give Aidan O’Brien Group One winner 400 on the flat pic.twitter.com/9GL7k0JTWZ
“He has to be in the High Chaparral territory. If you think of all the horses in my colours, Montjeu springs to mind and Thunder Gulch, my Kentucky Derby winner, there has been a few of them thankfully, but when you have a horse like this, you never get tired of it and it is such a great feeling when he hits the front.”
If Auguste Rodin is a special horse, then what can be said about the man in the Ballydoyle cockpit, successfully steering one of Flat racing’s most successful operations?
As one of ‘the lads’ who entrusts O’Brien with the keys to the Coolmore empire, Tabor is in no doubt about what qualities come to the fore with the 54-year-old at the helm.
“What adjectives can you use, he’s just very special,” continued Tabor.
“He’s a very patient, polite man, who is a great trainer, which goes without saying. He’s genuinely a nice person as well, he really is.
“Like anything in life, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and he just does it time and again.”
For O’Brien himself, it was far from just another day at the office, but one he is determined to savour.
He said: “I don’t ever think ahead. I always say ‘forget about yesterday, don’t think about tomorrow and just try to survive now’. I try not to think too far ahead, because that’s when you get anxious.
Aidan O’Brien has saddled many big-race winners (David Davies/PA)
“There is no point thinking about the past because it is gone and it is important to just try to stay in the minute and keep working one day at a time and appreciate it, because it is very hard for those horses to win.
“There are so many things that have to fall right for you and so many people have to work so hard, so I’m just incredibly grateful, really.”
Among his 400 winners at the highest level is a record number of victories in both the Derby and the Oaks, while in 2012 he gave his son Joseph the leg-up aboard Camelot to become the first father-son trainer-jockey duo to succeed in the premier Classic at Epsom.
In fact, he also saddled his other son Donnacha to taste Classic success – special days to remember even for a man who has consistently been the standard-setter in the sport.
Joseph O’Brien and Camelot winning the Derby was a moment of racing history (Nigel French/PA)
“They were incredible days and I can’t actually believe those days did happen,” added O’Brien.
“Those lads rode very well and they were very young and they took all the pressure of such a big job as only kids. They took that and they were days you can never expect to happen, but they made it happen, it was unbelievable.
“There have been so many special days, all the Derbys and all the winners here every year are special, there are so many of those great days, with horses like City Of Troy and this horse. There are so many and it is so hard to pick just one or two out, but they are all special.”
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Auguste Rodin rewarded those who kept the faith with a brilliantly determined victory in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot – providing trainer Aidan O’Brien with a 400th Group or Grade One triumph on the Flat.
The son of Deep Impact is a superb colt on his day, as evidenced by his big-race successes in the Derby, Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf last season.
However, he has also not been the easiest to predict, disappointing as a hot favourite in both the 2000 Guineas and the King George as a three-year-old and on his four-year-old debut in the Dubai Sheema Classic, while he was no match for White Birch on his most recent outing in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Despite the doubts, Auguste Rodin was the 13-8 market leader to show his true colours once more and tracked the pacesetting pair of Snobbish and Hans Andersen into the straight, before hitting the front under Ryan Moore.
Auguste Rodin holds them all off in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (David Davies/PA)
He was strongly challenged by the French-trained duo of Zarakem and Horizon Dore in the final furlong, but answered Moore’s every call to see off the former by three-quarters of a length.
O’Brien said: “I’m so delighted for the lads, he’s a very special horse. He gets a mile and a half very well, but when he gets to the front he waits, so I was probably giving him the wrong instructions all along. We were riding him too far back and when there was no pace, he was too far out of the race.
“We changed everything, Ryan said he was going to ride him positive from now on and engage him straight away.
“Honestly, I feel the blips were my fault, the instructions were wrong, and it was time to start getting it right.
“We saw today, when he gets to the front he waits, and then he goes again.
“He has a personality. Good horses, they have to develop a personality. And Ryan gave him a very special ride.
“He can do anything, he can go to America – it’s totally dependent on what the lads want to do.
A pat from travelling head lad Pat Keating for Auguste Rodin (PA)
“We were very surprised when he went to the dirt (working before Breeders’ Cup Turf) how he handled it, he cruises. The great thing about him now is that he’s happy to be ridden forward. Now we’re more confident that we’ve worked him out. He can cruise off any pace and he’s very straightforward.”
“I promise, I feel the blips were my fault, the instructions were wrong and it took us time to start getting it right.
“We saw today, when he gets to the front he waits, and then he goes again. He has the action, the movement, the pedigree, the temperament. He’s very special and Ryan gave him a very special ride. What can I say? He does it day in, day out.”
On a potential clash with this year’s Derby winner City Of Troy, O’Brien played a straight bat, adding: The lads will decide that, I’m hoping there will be no need.
“The lads will decide, but I’m hoping there’ll never be any need! When those horses come along you want to pick slots for them, space them out, appreciate them and enjoy them.”
Moore said: “He’s a great little horse.
“OK, a few times it hasn’t happened, but there have been reasons every time. The King George was maybe coming after a hard run in both Derbys, which is a hard thing to do.
“He took me there, going very well, and when I asked him he really showed great courage. He wanted to win.
“He’s a proper horse.”
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Chris Richardson is confident Inspiral can recover from her disappointment in the Lockinge Stakes with a bold effort in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Inspiral was sent off a short-priced favourite at Newbury, but it was her stablemate, the 22-1 shot Audience, who took the honours by a length and three-quarters, with the five-year-old mare beaten 13 lengths in fourth.
John Gosden, who trains Inspiral with his son Thady, and big-race jockey Kieran Shoemark both felt she was in need of the run and are expecting a far better showing at the Royal meeting, where connections have opted to step up in trip to 10 furlongs from what had been thought her most likely target of the Queen Anne over a mile.
A major upset in the Lockinge!
Audience – billed as the pacemaker for stablemate Inspiral pre-race – makes all to stun @NewburyRacing…
— Sky Sports Racing (@SkySportsRacing) May 18, 2024
Richardson, managing director of owners Cheveley Park Stud, said: “It will be exciting to see how she does. I think she’s ready to step up, that is the indication John has got from her work this spring.
“It’s obviously a very good race and Auguste Rodin is there as a worthy favourite.
“Like Inspiral he was impressive at the Breeders’ Cup, although I know he was beaten by White Birch last time in Ireland.
“It’ll be an exciting race full of class horses.”
Blue Rose Cen was last seen at Longchamp (Andrew Matthews/PA)
Maurizio Guarnieri is hoping for a big run from Blue Rose Cen after she made her seasonal debut following an extended break with a fifth-place finish in the Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp.
That was her first run for Guarnieri since switching from the care of Christopher Head and he is happy with how she has come out of the race after only being beaten two lengths.
Christophe Soumillon has been booked for the ride due his greater experience of Ascot as Guarnieri hopes she can rediscover the form that saw her win four times in Group One company for Head.
Christophe Soumillon will ride Blue Rose Cen (Mike Egerton/PA)
Guarnieri said: “Blue Rose Cen did a really good canter after her run in the Group One Prix d’Ispahan and everything has been good with her after the race.
“She did a good trial recently with Soumillon on board and everything went well.
“After the race at Longchamp she has had a good time. She is in good condition and eats everything every day.
“It will be very hard to take on colts like Auguste Rodin and a filly like Inspiral who has changed distance. But we hope Blue Rose Cen can run a really good race.”
Auguste Rodin was second in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Brian Lawless/PA)
Aidan O’Brien expects better ground will help last year’s dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin in his bid to get back on track.
He was beaten into second by White Birch in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, after finishing last of the 12 runners in a disappointing display in the Dubai Sheema Classic in his only other run this season.
O’Brien told Racing TV: “We were happy with his run at the Curragh and have been very happy with him since. At the Curragh the ground got a little bit slower than he would have liked and he had a bit of a wobble coming down the hill.
“We have always had our eye on this race for a long time and all the other races were kind of stepping stones along the way.
“You can’t win every race every day, but we’ve been very happy with him.”
Zarakem is another French raider and trainer Jerome Reynier is looking to put a disappointing effort in the Prix Ganay behind him in Berkshire.
Reynier said: “He’s done nothing wrong and won five in a row last year as a three-year-old, including two Listed races.
“His reappearance was really good when he won the Prix d’Harcourt in early April and then we supplemented him for the Prix Ganay where everything went wrong.
“We will ride him like we did in the Harcourt, riding him from the back for a place and you never know what could happen.
“If there is enough pace he will be able to come from behind and he is a really nice, improving horse and is behaving much better than he did as a three-year-old. Now it is time to take this shot and a gamble.”
Auguste Rodin’s conqueror White Birch was taken out at the declaration stage following an imperfect blood test, but Horizon Dore, Alflaila, Royal Rhyme, Lord North, Hans Andersen and Snobbish have all stood their ground.
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The rematch between Auguste Rodin and White Birch in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes is off, with John Murphy’s grey a notable absentee from a final field of nine for Wednesday’s Royal Ascot feature.
Having met in the Tattersalls Gold Cup recently, where White Birch came out on top, the pair meeting again would have been one of the highlights of the week, but that will now have to be another day.
For Auguste Rodin, last year’s dual Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, it was a first defeat when he has not totally run below form, but Aidan O’Brien is expecting him to improve for the run. O’Brien is also represented by Hans Andersen.
There are four runners trained in France – Blue Rose Cen and Snobbish, both trained by Maurizio Guarnieri, Zarakem for Jerome Reynier and Patrice Cottier’s Horizon Dore.
The UK challenge is led by John and Thady Gosden’s Inspiral and is supplemented by the Owen Burrows-trained Alflaila and Karl Burke’s Royal Rhyme.
A big field of 26 will go to post for the Queen Mary, with the unbeaten Enchanting Empress making her first start for Raphael Freire having won three for Dominic French Davis.
Make Haste has impressed to date for Diego Dias and is sure to have her supporters, while Ryan Moore is on O’Brien’s Truly Enchanting. Leovanni and Wesley Ward’s Ultima Grace are others to note.
Last year’s winner Rogue Millennium is back again in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes but this time represents Joseph O’Brien rather than Tom Clover.
Stablemate Gregarina, Willie McCreery’s Ocean Jewel and Adrian Murray’s Magical Sunset give Ireland a strong hand, with Christopher Head’s Sea The Lady also declared against Laurel for the Gosdens.
Aidan O’Brien has four of the 12 declared in the Queen’s Vase in Grosvenor Square, Highbury, Illinois and The Equator, while Jessica Harrington’s Birdman is another well-fancied runner.
A maximum 30 will go to post for the Royal Hunt Cup with top-weight Sonny Liston aiming to go one better than last year.
There are 25 in the Kensington Palace Stakes with the weights headed by the Harrington-trained Villanova Queen, while in the closing Windsor Palace Stakes a maximum field of 28 juveniles, including Richard Fahey’s Shadow Army, will come hurtling down Ascot’s straight five furlongs.
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