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| Staff Writer |
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According to Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Auguste Rodin, the horse's chances of claiming a Breeders' Cup victory were greatly enhanced by his performance in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. This victory adds to Rodin's existing string of Group One victories this season.
Auguste Rodin, who won the Derby and Irish Derby this year, did not compete in the Champion Stakes. Instead, his owners Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Georg von Opel, and John Magnier, along with O’Brien, chose to target the Breeders’ Cup Turf next month at Santa Anita.
Despite not participating in the Champion Stakes, Auguste Rodin’s victory over the Ascot winner King Of Steel and Point Lonsdale, who finished fourth on Saturday, in the Irish Champion Stakes last month added more strength to his form.
“The plan is he goes to America,” O’Brien said on Sunday. “It's interesting because yesterday Point Lonsdale finished exactly the same distance off of King Of Steel as he did in the Irish Champion so they were nearly identical runs.
“We were delighted with Auguste Rodin at Leopardstown, over the moon, and the plan is to go for the Turf. He has a lot of speed and we saw that at Leopardstown. When you go around the inside track there on fast ground you need a lot of speed and he has that.”
O'Brien boasts an impressive record of six Breeders' Cup Turf wins. His most recent victory occurred in 2016 at Santa Anita, where Highland Reel, guided by an inspired ride from Seamie Heffernan, led from start to finish.