Auguste Rodin (Ire)

There can be few six-time Group 1 winners that have as weird a profile as Ballydoyle's enigmatic Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), but as Ascot's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes approaches of course all eyes are on him once again. It was in this summer jewel 12 months ago that one of the best Derby winners of recent times was seen floundering even before the home turn before disappearing from view, a scene that would normally represent a fall from grace. But where we are...

Coolmore and Westerberg's dual Derby hero Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) heads a field of nine for Saturday's G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. after final declarations were confirmed for Ascot's midsummer showpiece on Thursday morning. Aidan O'Brien trimmed his team from five to three for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf "Win and You're In", sidelining Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), and will also saddle Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). Auguste Rodin, who has hit...

The lack of top-class talent in this season's sprint division was laid bare by Timeform on Tuesday as the organisation revealed that the class of 2024 currently rank well below the 10 highest-rated sprinters to have raced in Europe since 2015. Australian-trained sprinter Asfoora (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) achieved a rating of 122 when winning the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, a figure that was matched this month by Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) when he gained his first Group 1 success in the July Cup at Newmarket,...

Aidan O'Brien is responsible for five of the 11 possible runners in Saturday's G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes following Monday's confirmation stage, with Auguste Rodin (Ire) set to lead the Ballydoyle team into battle at Ascot as he tries to atone for his disappointing effort in the corresponding race 12 months ago. A four-time winner at the top level as a three-year-old when landing the Derby, Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders' Cup Turf, Auguste Rodin ran one of his lesser races that season when...

Following their successes at Royal Ascot, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) now share joint-fourth position after the fifth edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2024 were released on Thursday. Auguste Rodin earned his rating of 122 when he won the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes by three quarters of a length from Zarakem (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) (120), while Rosallion gained a narrow victory over Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) (121) in the G1 St James's Palace Stakes. The only horses...

The G1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, November 24 has been identified as a potential end-of-season target for Auguste Rodin (Ire) after he got his four-year-old campaign back on track with victory in the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. A four-time winner at the top level as a three-year-old when landing the Derby, Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders' Cup Turf, Auguste Rodin was unable to add to those victories in two starts earlier this year, first trailing home last in the G1 Dubai...

Granted the ideal conditions of fast ground and a true pace to run at, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}--Rhododendron {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) carved a landmark 400th group 1 success for Aidan O'Brien as he became the first Derby hero to come back and win at Royal Ascot since Royal Palace (GB) in 1968. Unique in his achievement in that he was augmenting his Blue Riband triumph with this feature prize in its current guise as a group 1, Ballydoyle's ground-breaking colt put any doubts that he was yesterday's...

For many the centrepiece of the whole week, Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot may have lost a key ingredient in White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) but remains an utterly fascinating contest with arguably Europe's best male and female matched against each other for the first time. In Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), we have two genuine superstar racehorses who have proven their worth time and again, most notably on the clock in their finest hours. For Ballydoyle's Derby hero, his...

Wednesday's Royal Ascot cards were finalised on Monday, with the feature G1 Prince of Wales's S. made up of 10 runners but not, as expected, White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}). The G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner's absence is one less obstacle for Ballydoyle's star colt of 2023, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), with Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Yeguada Centurion's Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) looking the chief threats to the Ballydoyle runner. Blue Rose Cen is joined by compatriots Horizon Dore (Fr) (Dabirsim {Fr}),...

The G1 St James's Palace S. is shaping up to be one of the hottest races at Royal Ascot this year and both Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) and Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) received positive reports from their respective trainers on Tuesday as they prepare to try and topple Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the day one highlight. Trained by Charlie Appleby, Notable Speech heads the ante-post betting for the St James's Palace following his striking success in the G1 2,000 Guineas, but Richard Hannon has not given...

Unbeaten two-year-old and G1 Derby winner City Of Troy is set to make his next appearance in the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. at Sandown on Saturday, July 6, it was confirmed in a statement on coolmore.com on Sunday. The son of Justify also had the option of running in the G1 Irish Derby the previous weekend, but his connections have decided to drop back in trip for the Sandown feature instead, with Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) set to take his place at the Curragh having finished a creditable third behind...

Niarchos runner Passenger (Ulysses {Ire}), favoured for the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot later this month, will not participate after sustaining a setback according to the owner's racing manager Alan Cooper. Third in the G2 Dante S. and a winner of the G3 Winter Hill S. at three, the 4-year-old colt returned with a 1 1/2-length victory in the G2 Huxley S. at Chester on May 10 for Sir Michael Stoute. Cooper said, "He has an infection and it would be a race against time to have...