O’BRIEN STAR AUGUSTE RODIN SCULPTING EXCITING FUTURE

AIDAN O’BRIEN described Auguste Rodin as ‘a horse to get excited about’ after he powered through the heavy ground for a thumping win for the group one Vertem Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

The Ryan Moore-ridden colt, who beat John and Thady Gosdentrained Epictetus three and a half lengths, is now 5-1 favourite for the 2023 2,000 Guineas and 3-1 favourite for the Derby with Coral.

O’Brien was winning the race for a record 11th time. Previous wins came via some special horses such as High Chaparral, who won the Derby the following season, and Camelot, who went on to land the 2,000 Guineas and Derby in 2012. The trainer feels he has also something special in Auguste Rodin.

O’Brien said: ‘We always felt he was very classy. Nobody had seen it on the track until now but we had to give him time to develop. He is a classically-bred big, rangy horse and we did not want to be doing too much too quickly with him.’

Auguste Rodin’s win nearly didn’t happen with O’Brien admitting he had arrived at the track with the intension of pulling his colt out because of the heavy ground.

But it was decided he could take his chance, Moore feeling the ground was not as bad as the official description.

Auguste Rodin’s sire was the outstanding Japanese champion Deep Impact while he is the first foal of his dam Rhododendron, a three-time Group One winner.