Aidan O’Brien once again showed his masterful training when Auguste Rodin took the spoils in the Betfred Derby, giving the trainer a record ninth win in the race.
Many wrote off Rodin’s Derby chances when finishing 12th of 14 in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas last month, but he was back at his best in the Epsom sunshine winning the Betfred Derby by half-a-length. The race soon settled with the O’Brien’s two other runners, Adelaide River and San Antonio, taking a share of the lead. Auguste Rodin’s rider, Ryan Moore, held his mount towards the back of the pack, tracking market rival Military Order.
Moore asked his mount to move forward before approaching Tattenham Corner and emerged with daylight heading into the home straight. Amo’s Racing, King Of Steel, ridden by Kevin Stott in his first Derby ride, also found daylight and hit the front lengthening his lead, however Moore’s patience paid off as he and Auguste Rodin chased down the leader to go on and impressively write themselves into the history books.
Roger Varian’s King Of Steel showed guts all the way to the line to outrun odds of 66/1. The first two were four-and-a-half lengths ahead of third placed White Birch.
Auguste Rodin, son of Deep Impact, is the ninth Aidan O’Brien-trained winner of the Derby, following; Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Pour Moi (2011), Camelot (2012), Ruler Of The World (2013), Australia (2014), Wings Of Eagles (2017), Anthony Van Dyck (2019) and Serpentine (2020).
The victory also secured a milestone for his jockey, Ryan Moore, who now has a hat-trick of Derby winners against his name after Workforce (2010) and Ruler Of The World (2013).
Speaking to ITV Racing, Moore, said: “We had a smooth run, landed in a nice spot, I had William and Frankie ahead of me and I was always confident I had them covered. We didn’t go that quick, turned into a bit of a dash but we had a nice smooth run.
“(Aidan O’Brien) is the only man that could do it. I’ve seen him get horses back after they’ve run badly in the Guineas and then win big races. This horse has a great pedigree and he’s always shown he’s a good horse. As Aidan always says, everyone does such a great job at home. Everything went smooth today.
O’Brien said: “We’ve always said he is the most special horse we’ve had in Ballydoyle, that’s what we always felt.
“He came with a massive reputation as a beautiful horse but he kept stepping up to all the markers the whole way, which is very unusual. He’s totally unique, he’s out of one of the greatest Galileo mares and by the greatest stallion ever in Japan, he’s totally unique.
With Triple Crown hopes crushed in May, Auguste Rodin certainly proved his worth today and will have his sights well and truly on further Group 1 success this season.
The Epsom Oaks on June 2 was won by SOUL SISTER, ridden by Frankie Dettori:
Soul Sister strikes in commanding fashion to land the Group 1 Betfred Oaks under Frankie Dettori for John & Thady Gosden 👏👏 @thadygosden @FrankieDettori @Betfred pic.twitter.com/jY6bDJxs3G
— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) June 2, 2023
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