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Auguste Rodin after his historic Irish Derby victory (David Betts)
By Breandán Ó hUallacháin
Auguste Rodin (4/11f) completed the Derby double with victory in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh, Co Kildare, on Sunday, and in the process gave Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien a 100th European Classic victory.
Auguste Rodin, a son of Japanese sire Deep Impact, was the first horse to complete the Derby double since Harzand in 2016 and it was also a 15th win in the premier Irish classic for the Ballydoyle handler, Aidan O’Brien.
O’Brien, who won his first Irish Derby with Desert King in 1997, said of his most recent winner in the one-mile four-furlong race:
“He showed all the class he has but he will be much better in a better race. This horse is real class. The Curragh is very fair and very straightforward and you usually see what exactly is there when they come here.”
Coolmore partnerships accounted for six of the nine runners in the 158th running of the Irish Derby, the 16th under the Dubai Duty Free sponsorship banner, and ended the €1.25 million contest with a 1-2-3-4 as Adelaide River (33/1) and Séamus Heffernan took the runner-up spot, one and a half lengths behind the winner.
Convent Garden (80/1) and Declan McDonagh were third, two and a quarter lengths behind the runner-up, with another Ballydoyle trained runner, Peking Opera (66/1) and Tom Marquand another five and a half lengths further back in fourth place.
The win came at a cost to the Coolmore partners, however, as San Antonio, a son of Dubawi out of Rain Goddess, broke down before entering the home stretch and had to be humanely euthanized. His jockey Wayne Lordan fell from the horse while travelling at racing speed, but it was later confirmed the rider was uninjured though he was stood down for the remainder of the day by the racecourse medical staff.
Ryan Moore, for whom it was a first winning ride in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, praised Aidan O’Brien and his achievement when talking to Racing TV:
“Aidan will tell you it’s such a big team effort,” Moore said, “and it is, it’s such a big team effort, there are so many people that he always thanks, but there is a reason why he’s got these records. He puts me on these horses that are capable of winning these races. The amount of work he does is quite incredible.”
As usual Aidan O’Brien did his best to deflect from the praise and the incredible achievement, and stressed the importance of teamwork when interviewed on Racing TV.
“It’s pure teamwork,” stated the Ballydoyle hander. “There are so many small teams within the big team and they all come together and that’s how it happens. We feel so grateful to have such horses to train for such great people, and working with such magic people and it’s day in, day out, and we really appreciate it. You can have the horses and the place and you can have everything, but if all the people are not there, it doesn’t happen. We appreciate everybody and all the hard work they put in.”
White Birch and Sprewell, third and fourth behind August Rodin in the Epsom Derby in England at the beginning of June, were never a danger to their old adversary today, and disappointingly finished eight and sixth respectively.
Aidan O’Brien’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby wins are as follows:
1997 Desert King, 2001 Galileo, 2002 High Chaparral, 2006 Dylan Thomas, 2007 Soldier Of Fortune, 2008 Frozen Fire, 2009 Fame And Glory, 2010 Cape Blanco, 2011 Treasure Beach, 2012 Camelot, 2014 Australia, 2017 Capri, 2019 Sovereign, 2020 Santiago and 2023 Auguste Rodin.
