Auguste Rodin spearheads a three-strong Aidan O’Brien challenge on the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot this Saturday

The son of Deep Impact looked back on song on his latest start as he recorded a sixth Group 1 victory in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

If successful, Auguste Rodin would become the third Derby winner to take the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes as a four-year-old, following Royal Palace (1968) and Teenoso (1984).

He is joined by four-time Group 1 victor Luxembourg, who added to his tally in the Coronation Cup last time out, and Hans Andersen.

O’Brien, a four-time winner of the 12-furlong showpiece with Galileo (2001), Dylan Thomas (2007), Duke Of Marmalade (2008) and Highland Reel (2016), said: “We have been very happy with Auguste Rodin and the plan always was to come here after the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.

“In last year’s King George, it was soft ground and we probably held him up too much. When Ryan [Moore] felt he was not going to win, he eased him out of it, and the run probably was not as bad as it looked.

Plan for Japan

“The plan for Auguste Rodin after Ascot is the Japan Cup, which will be very exciting, and he could have a run somewhere in between. 

“Luxembourg won the Coronation Cup over a mile and a half, which we thought would suit him. He is in very good form as well.”

With six individual Group 1 winners in the lineup, the leading contenders also include Godolphin’s globetrotting star Rebel’s Romance (Charlie Appleby), a Group 1 scorer in four countries, and recent Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett).

Dubai Honour (William Haggas) captured two Group 1 prizes in Australia last year and most recently tasted victory in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, while Group 1 Irish Derby runner-up Sunway (David Menuisier) ended last season with top-level success in France’s Criterium International.

The French challenge comes courtesy of Goliath (Francis-Henri Graffard), who was second in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, one place ahead of the reopposing Middle Earth (John & Thady Gosden).