Tag: White Birch (GB)

Auguste Rodin Poised for Derby Double

Anyone privy to the sensational closing sectionals of Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Derby will be approaching Sunday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh with great anticipation of what he can do next. While Epsom's final three furlongs lend themselves to electric fractions, the 33.01 that Ballydoyle's latest celebrity covered them in is nothing short of remarkable and already places him in exalted territory among the very elite to have conquered the demands of the Blue Riband.

Now that the only marginally less brilliant King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) has underlined at Royal Ascot just what an achievement it was to give him a start and run him down on the famous Surrey Downs, the excitement continues to mount that we are in the midst of a great one.

It is therefore vital that the talented and possibly under-rated White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) is here to test his merit again and provide a true measurement of his trajectory. John Joseph Murphy's grey missile likes to hand his rivals instant advantage, but at Epsom he was notably rapid throughout the final half mile with his split from three to two out of 10.67 just a tick off the race's sharpest recorded by King Of Steel. Now on a more galloping track on ground which should play more to his strengths, Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's representative ensures this is an Irish Derby with real weight.

Much will be said by Aidan O'Brien but as usual, the master of Ballydoyle was keeping it low-key pre-race. “Everything has gone smooth since Epsom,” he said. “That was his first time over a mile and a half and we didn't know how it would be, but we thought he was very comfortable and it has to be a good experience to stay at that trip again. Those horses at Ascot had more time from the Derby this year, which helped, but the form looks to be standing up.”

Murphy is understandably hoping that White Birch can make the same impact here as he did last month. “I was delighted at Epsom, but I think he could have been a bit better as he starts his races quite slowly and then gallops very genuinely,” he said. “He's a very sound horse, I don't think he's ever had a vet. He's very genuine, but he doesn't break well and I think he'll get better as the race goes on. He's lightly-raced still, there's only so many times you can go to the well but he likes his racing and likes his work–every morning he has a great attitude.”

Fourth in the Derby and denied a clean passage at a crucial time, Mohammed Khalid Abdulrahim's Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) still has to improve markedly to impose himself on Auguste Rodin and White Birch so the colts that followed him home at comfortable margins in Leopardstown's G3 Derby Trial, Up And Under (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), should be readily outclassed. Aidan O'Brien has set this up tactically to allow the favourite to get into his crushing rhythm and the useful potential pacemaker Covent Garden (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will presumably set the stage.

Straight Up?…

Of course, Ireland are not the only ones on Sunday staging a Derby, with the 154th edition of the G1 Deutsches Derby at Hamburg seeing Gestut Karlshof's Straight (Ger) (Zarak {Fr}) re-opposed by TDN Rising Star Mr Hollywood (Ire) (Iquitos {Ger}) following their mismatched encounter in Cologne's G2 Union-Rennen earlier this month. While there was a five-length margin between them on that occasion, Wanja Soren Oberhof and Sebastian Weiss's Mr Hollywood had been so impressive when taking Munich's G3 Bavarian Classic that Straight has to do it again for true validation.

Straight's owner-breeder Bruno Faust said, “We are very happy for him to have shown his quality in such an awesome way! He has the right genes, being very closely related to three German Derby winners, a German Oaks heroine and Derby runner-up plus this year's Derby Italiano hero Goldenas. For me, it was clear that he had the potential when he broke his maiden at two and he has continued to convinc e us. I also hope that he can handle any ground.”

Sebastian Weiss said of Mr Hollywood, “Our trainer Henk Grewe told us that he was a very good horse, but just how good he was we only began realising when he took the Bavarian Classic. We bought him without much planning, he was on a list given to me by Wilhelm Feldmann and even if it sounds like a cliche, I fell in love with him instantly. He had so much presence, he was such a good mover and athletic, if he would have been by Sea The Stars or Frankel, he probably would have been amongst the top lots, but we were lucky he was by Iquitos. I only know whoever wants to win this Derby will have to beat Straight.”

If there is one who could shake up the domestic team it is the Ralph Beckett-trained If Not Now (Ger) (Iffraaj {GB}). Bred by Gestut Fahrhof and bought at the BBAG September Yearling Sale for €67,000 by Jeremy Brummitt for Quantum Leap Racing, the relative of the 1999 Deutsches Derby runner-up Acambaro (Ger) (Goofalik) produced a noteworthy performance when winning a Sandown handicap by seven lengths on his latest outing. “He's done well from two to three and it was a good effort last time. He's a very straightforward individual and his owners were keen to have a go, so it all made very good sense,” Beckett said.

Unquestionable Faith…

Sunday's G2 GAIN Railway S. is always an important staging post en route to the following year's Classics, particularly where Aidan O'Brien is concerned, and there are three potential Guineas colts from Ballydoyle this time. Successful on debut in the Listed First Flier S. and a close third in the G3 Marble Hill S. here before finishing fourth and beating all on his side in last Thursday's G2 Norfolk S., His Majesty  (Ire) (No Nay Never) would ordinarily have been expected to be Ryan Moore's pick. That he is not speaks volumes for the regard in which the TDN Rising Star Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is held. Third behind His Majesty as they made their debuts in the First Flier, Al Shaqab Racing, Coolmore and Westerberg's relative of Cityscape (GB) and Bated Breath (GB) looked so comfortable in the course-and-distance Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Maiden at the Irish Guineas meeting that he has made a deep impression on Moore.

Opting for him over His Majesty and fellow TDN Rising Star Democracy (Ire) (No Nay Never), who was last of six in the Marble Hill, the rider explained, “There isn't much to choose between any of them. I do think His Majesty holds the best form claims of our trio heading into the race, especially as you have to mark up his fourth in the Norfolk last week and I think the return to six furlongs will suit him too but Unquestionable clearly has a lot of potential and I was very impressed by him when he won his maiden here last month. I think there is a lot of improvement in this Wootton Bassett colt. Democracy is better than he showed in the Marble Hill last time too.”

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Auguste Rodin Faces Eight In Irish Derby

Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) will have eight peers to overcome on Sunday in his bid to become the fifth Derby winner for Aidan O'Brien to double up in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh. Among them are the Derby third White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) and fourth Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), the only runners not representing the O'Brien family with the Donnacha-trained Proud And Regal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Joseph-trained Up And Under (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) the others taking on a Ballydoyle quintet. Auguste Rodin is drawn next to the rail in one, with the habitual slow-starter White Birch widest of all in eight.

Incredibly, Ryan Moore is looking for a first renewal of this Classic and said in his Betfair blog, “If he runs up to the level of his form at Epsom, something is going to have improve markedly to beat him. I am sure the connections of White Birch and Sprewell will fancy their chances of at least getting closer to us on this more conventional track. And who is to say they won't. Different day, different course, different result maybe. But everyone saw the real Auguste Rodin in the Derby, stepped up to a trip more in keeping with his superb pedigree and everyone has seen how strong the form is with King Of Steel and Waipiro coming out and winning at Ascot.”

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Derby Glory For Deep Impact’s Auguste Rodin

Bouncing back from his disappointment in the 2000 Guineas, TDN Rising Star Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}–Rhododendron {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) conquered Epsom's undulations to carry off a ninth G1 Betfred Derby for Aidan O'Brien. Sent off at 9-2 as the punters dallied over this year's favourite, the G1 Futurity Trophy winner was kept back from the early action by Ryan Moore worse than mid-division. Launched wide as the 66-1 shot King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) cut loose approaching two out, the bay took until the last 100 yards to wear down Amo Racing's seasonal debutante but forged ahead late on for a half-length success.

There was a 4 3/4-length gap between the Roger Varian-trained runner-up, who had trailed Auguste Rodin by nearly 10 lengths when last seen at Doncaster, and White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) with the unlucky-in-running Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) beaten another 1 3/4 lengths in fourth. Predictably, Frankie's final Derby ride Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was sent off the 4-1 favourite, but after racing prominently could only manage 10th. The winning time of 2:33.88 was 1/10 second away from that recorded by Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in Friday's G1 Coronation Cup and almost three seconds faster than the Oaks.

“He's totally unique,” the master of Ballydoyle commented after witnessing the completion of the great turnaround. “All the people in Coolmore have made this happen–it's all credit to them. He came with a massive reputation as a beautiful horse, but he kept stepping up to all the markers all the way which is very unusual. He's out of one of the greatest Galileo mares by the greatest stallion ever in Japan.”

 

“Ryan actually said he'd have preferred a lot stronger pace there and he had to quicken twice,” O'Brien added. “Everything fell against him in the Guineas, but he came out of it great which was a massive thing and every day in his work he was just getting better and more and more confident. Ryan gave him an incredible ride–he was so cool, as he knew the pressure was on him but he had a free hand going out.”

“It was Ryan who rode him last February when he was a 2-year-old and had said he was very special, so you can imagine what he was like then,” O'Brien concluded. “His movement has always been spectacular–he has such an economical way of going and is very different. We always felt he was the most special horse we have had at Ballydoyle. These type of horses come here and if they're good enough, we often have a look at the Irish Derby but the lads make all those decisions and all the options are open to him.”

Introduced over seven furlongs at The Curragh a year and two days before his Blue Riband heroics, Auguste Rodin had looked desperately unlucky to miss out on a debut win as he met serious trouble in running against the subsequent G2 Beresford S. winner Crypto Force (GB) (Time Test {GB}). Handed his TDN Rising Star badge at Naas a month later, he proved that award to be justified with wins in Leopardstown's G2 Champions Juvenile S. and Doncaster's Futurity and entered the 2000 Guineas surrounded by all the clamour and hype that Triple Crown talk generates.

In the event, the Newmarket Classic descended quickly into calamity for the Rosegreen contingent, but the past experience of the likes of Power (GB) and One Cool Cat served as a reminder that this stable's class acts can very quickly regain kudos following a dismal display there. Seven days after the fire within fellow Guineas flop Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never) was successfully rekindled at Haydock, it was Auguste Rodin's turn to provide a personal renaissance at the track that is the most unforgiving of any weakness.

If luck was against Auguste Rodin at Newmarket, it was on his side here as he was handed the famous stall 10 which housed Friday's Oaks winner Soul Sister (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and from which Shahrastani, Reference Point (GB), Nashwan, Quest For Fame (GB), Generous (Ire), Galileo (Ire), Sir Percy (GB), Ruler Of The World (Ire) and Masar (Ire) all emerged. Settled back down the field as his stablemates Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and San Antonio (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) took over from Arrest and Frankie, the eventual winner was able to coast throughout an uneventful first mile and ended up in the Soul Sister position out wide and out of trouble entering the straight.

As the obligatory scrimmaging took place to his inner passing three out, with the runners still tanking from the downhill section onto the crazy camber, Sprewell was the one to hit the wall as happens virtually every year with Shane Foley finding the door abruptly shut. Either side of Jessie Harrington's stricken colt, Ryan Moore was going through the gears while Kevin Stott somehow managed to launch the enormous King Of Steel through the tight spaces and into the clear.

A colt the size of the runner-up should have been compromised by this terrain, but King Of Steel proved surprisingly athletic and nimble as he skipped away from the pack and his only serious pursuer two out. If Stott's Derby dream was alive and kicking for over a furlong, it was dying as Moore arrived alongside with his inimitable drive. Whether the last 100 yards was about Auguste Rodin's superiority or King Of Steel's lack of match practice will only be known when the pair encounter each other again, but this was the day of Ballydoyle's beau ideal who avenged the defeat of his dam in the 2017 Oaks.

Ryan Moore, who was garnering a third Derby, said, “We landed in a smooth spot and I was always confident I had them covered. It turned in to a bit of a dash and he was a bit babyish, but I just had to get into him in the last furlong there and he responded very gamely. He's done that quite cosily, I think.” Paying tribute to the training performance, he added, “He's the only man that could do it. I've seen him get horses back. There have been horses that have run bad in the Guineas and have come back like Roderic O'Connor and even Qualify ran bad in a Guineas and came and won an Oaks. Aidan can just do things.”

Roger Varian said of the runner-up, “He ran a terrific race, but I'm gutted really. I'm delighted with the way he behaved and his performance and I think he's a good one, but this is a bittersweet moment. Credit to the winning team and credit to mine, as he came here in great shape.” Stott added, “There are a few emotions as you hit the front in the Derby and I'm kicking myself a bit as to whether I went to the front too early. Then again, the fact that he hasn't had a run this year might have caught him out in the last 50 yards. We were beaten by a very good horse and there are better things to come I'm sure.”

George Murphy said of White Birch, whose antics at the start proved at least some of his undoing, “He just hesitated again at the gates and got himself into a difficult position, but ran a blinder and Colin [Keane] gave him a great ride considering how it played out early on. He galloped all the way to the line, so if all goes well I'd say the Irish Derby will probably be the plan. We're going to have to try and work on his starting and it's going to have to improve–he's not worried about it, he just gets a bit excited more than anything and we're over the moon just to have a horse like him.”

Pedigree Notes

Auguste Rodin, who is one of his remarkable sire's 59 top-level winners, is the first foal out of the five-times group 1-winning champion Rhododendron who was able to land a Lockinge at a mile and beat all bar Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) over this course and distance. This is one of the best pedigrees anywhere, with the second dam the excellent Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) who captured three at this level including the Irish 1000 Guineas and who also provided connections with Galileo's outstanding Magical (Ire), the seven-times group 1 winner.

Halfway To Heaven is out of the multiple group-winning sprinter supreme Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), whose other black-type winners include the G3 Abernant S. and G3 Sandown Sprint S. scorer Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and the G3 Summer S. winner Theann (GB) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire). Tickled Pink produced the stable's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}), while Theann is responsible for Galileo's GI First Lady S. and GI Rodeo S. heroine Photo Call (Ire) and the G2 Richmond S.-winning first-season sire Land Force (Ire). Next up from Rhododendron is a colt foal by Dubawi (Ire).

Saturday, Epsom, Britain
BETFRED DERBY-G1, £1,561,950, Epsom, 6-3, 3yo, 12f 6yT, 2:33.88, g/f.
1–AUGUSTE RODIN (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
     1st Dam: Rhododendron (Ire) (G1SW-Fr, MG1SW-Eng, GSW & G1SP-Ire, GISP-US, $1,786,763), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Halfway To Heaven (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
     3rd Dam: Cassandra Go (Ire), by Indian Ridge (Ire)
TDN Rising Star. O-M Tabor/D Smith/Mrs J Magnier/Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £885,782. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 6-4-1-0, $235,895. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–King Of Steel, 128, c, 3, Wootton Bassett (GB)–Eldacar (GB), by Verglas (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($200,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Amo Racing Limited; B-BCF Services LLC (Bonne Chance Farm LLC) (KY); T-Roger Varian. £335,819.
3–White Birch (GB), 128, c, 3, Ulysses (Ire)–Diagnostic (GB), by Dutch Art (GB).
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (75,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; 48,000gns RNA Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Mrs C C Regalado-Gonzalez; B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-John Joseph Murphy. £168,066.
Margins: HF, 4 3/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 4.50, 66.00, 12.00.
Also Ran: Sprewell (Ire), The Foxes (Ire), Waipiro (Ire), Artistic Star (Ire), Adelaide River (Ire), Dubai Mile (Ire), Arrest (Ire), San Antonio (Ire), Passenger, Dear My Friend (GB), Military Order (Ire).

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Epsom: Can Auguste Rodin Bounce Back In The Derby?

   For once in these days of volatile climate, the sun is shining on the Surrey Downs and all the righteous colts assembled for the latest G1 Betfred Derby. Lester Piggott, who is commemorated by one of the card's handicaps carrying his name, was always refererred to patronisingly as the “housewife's choice” in the Blue Riband thanks largely to his association with Ballydoyle. Rosegreen's sacred establishment continues to support this mile-and-a-half Classic like a pillar of iron and 2023's chosen one is Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), whose attempt at Nijinsky's Triple Crown came to an abrupt halt in the 2000 Guineas. Of all the Longfellow's Derby winners, none had to conjure a magic-trick turnaround of this nature so Saturday's race carries that bit of extra intrigue.

What Auguste Rodin lacks in last-time-out form, he makes up for with a mix of reputation and juvenile achievement representing the trainer who has continually bent the accepted perceived knowledge of what is possible in this sport. After all, this is the stable that engineered a Slip Anchor-style Derby win out of Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a colt who had begun his career with a 16-length 10th of 11 in a Galway maiden. Auguste Rodin, the “special” one as far as all closest to him are concerned, has to go and do it himself now with O'Brien summing it up this week. “The Derby is the race where all the horses come together and then you find out, that's the way it is every year,” he said.

Passing It Down; Is Frankel The New Derby Sire Sensation?

In one of the last Classic face-offs between Galileo and Frankel, the latter looks to have a distinct edge in his bid to cement his position as the next go-to sire in this great race. Galileo's unbeaten son Artistic Star (Ire) hails not from Ballydoyle but from the Ralph Beckett stable and is a big outsider with experience in short supply, while Juddmonte's great supplies Frankie's grand finale Arrest (Ire) and more intriguingly also a sleight of hand two years on from his first winner Adayar (Ire). Unexpectedly, that emphatic Derby hero's full-brother Military Order (Ire) comes here with perhaps stronger credentials having won the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial his 5-year-old sibling surrendered en route. When Arthur Budgett's Oaks runner-up Windmill Girl produced two Derby winners in Blakeney and Morston there was a thought that it might not happen again, such is the implausibility of such an outcome, but we are potentially here again.

The 1969 and 1973 winners were half-brothers, so Anna Salai (Dubawi {Ire}) will be providing the race and her breeding operation with something unique if it again plays out right for the boys in blue on Saturday. Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby said today he is happy with the draw allocated to Military Order as he bids to saddle his third Betfred Derby winner. “He is always going to be going there with the tag as being a Derby winner's full-brother, so everyone is going to ask the questions of 'is he as good?' and 'where does he stand compared to him?' but he looks as though he is physically potentially more there and mentally more there than Adayar at this stage of his career,” Charlie Appleby said. “Regardless of that, Adayar went and won a Derby and this lad has got to go and do it now.”

Prepare For The Ride

Richard Kingscote has the chance to emulate “King Kieren” Fallon, the last jockey to win back-to-back Derbys in 2003 and 2004, on Passenger (Ulysses {Ire}) who carries Workforce-like vibes into this for the Niarchos Family so far denied a Derby triumph. Sir Michael Stoute's assistant James Savage was tellingly not averse to comparing the homebred with last year's winner. “Desert Crown and Passenger are different in many ways, but one thing they are similar in is that they are both clever horses that learnt very quickly,” he said. Like the 1993 hero Commander in Chief, he only appeared for the first time at Newmarket's Craven meeting, where King Power's The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) was running second in the signature race before their subsequent coming together in York's Dante.

An Instant Impression?

Surprisingly, given the intensely competitive nature of the Derby, both Geoff Wragg in 1983 and Roger Charlton in 1990 managed to win it in their first season training with Teenoso and Quest For Fame, respectively. Charlie Johnston is attempting the feat this time with a duo including the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud hero Dubai Mile (Ire) (Roaring Lion), who has the edge over the Chester Vase one-two Arrest and Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and very much over Auguste Rodin having finished 17 lengths ahead of that peer in the Guineas.

Sporting the colours of “Mr Derby” Ahmad Al Shaikh, whose outsiders Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) and Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) were second in 2020 and 2022, Dubai Mile's Derby success could well have been prophesied by his owner after greeting Hoo Ya Mal. “Next year!” he had said, so no pressure there then Charlie. “He looks great and it is all systems go,” the son of Middleham legend Mark, who fared no better than second in all his tries in the Derby. “The track as we know is a variable that will be an unknown until he has tackled it, but the trip is very much viewed as a positive.”

Click here to view the TDN's Derby Special Edition.

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