"He’s all quality" - O'Brien backing Auguste Rodin to bounce back at Leopardstown

For the second year in a row, Auguste Rodin heads into Irish Champions Weekend on the back of a poor showing in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. O'Brien blamed poor ground for that underwhelming fifth-place finish, blaming himself for not instructing Ryan Moore to pull away from the rail, having found the going much softer on the inside during his walk of the track.

A dismal showing in last year's King George didn't stop Auguste Rodin from beating Luxembourg in the Irish Champion Stakes. Speaking to the press on Wednesday, O'Brien seemed very impressed with the work that his star four-year-old had been putting in on the gallops.

"His last piece of work was excellent — he showed a lot of zest in it." O'Brien said. “He loves fast ground, and his work is very good."

“He went by his lead horse very easily, where usually he wouldn’t at that stage of the work. He was very confident, and we were very happy when we saw it — it was a bit different. He’s changed into a four-year-old, that’s what we felt. He’s all quality."

“We think he’s a mile-and-a-quarter horse that gets a mile and a half, but he’s not for any further than that. He’s a very slick horse, he travels very well and does everything very easily. We think he’s going to suit the race, and the next race will suit him as well.” 

Auguste Rodin will come up against William Haggas' progressive three-year-old Economics for the first time at Leopardstown. Economics had bolted up in a couple of Group Twos on his last two starts and is currently the 6/4 favourite to win the Irish Champion Stakes.

The defending champion can be backed at 4/1 to claim back-to-back wins in this historic Group One. After Leopardstown, Auguste Rodin will head on to the Japan Cup, which takes place at Tokyo racecourse on November 24th.