WHEN Luxembourg won the Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes last year, he brought up a 10th win in the race for his trainer Aidan O’Brien, which equalled Sir Henry Cecil’s record total.

The Cecil 10 ran from Approval in 1969 when the race was the Observer Gold Cup, through the William Hill Futurity Stakes, all the way to King’s Theatre’s Racing Post Trophy in 1993.

Aidan’s first was four years after Sir Henry’s last, Saratoga Springs in 1997, when the race was still the Racing Post Trophy, and by the time Luxembourg won it last year, the Vertem Futurity Trophy moniker was already bedding in.

Auguste Rodin has been put in at a short price today to provide his trainer with his 11th win in the race, and you can see why.

The Deep Impact colt was impressive in winning his maiden at Naas in early July, and he stepped forward from that last time at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend, when he kept on well to win the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes.

He is immaculately bred. By the Japanese champion Deep Impact, he is the first foal out of Rhododendron, who won the Fillies’ Mile at two, the Prix de l’Opera at three and the Lockinge Stakes at four. And Rhododendron is a sister to Magical, who won six Group 1 races, including the Irish Champion Stakes twice.

Easy ground

Auguste Rodin proved at Leopardstown last time that he could handle easy ground, and it was his first run for 70 days, so there is every chance that he can improve from that. And he is trained by Aidan O’Brien and will have Ryan Moore for company. There are lots of positives.

That said, his stable companion Salt Lake City may get closer to him than the market suggests. It is significant that Aidan O’Brien has chosen to run just Auguste Rodin and Salt Lake City in a race in which he had myriad options at the five-day stage.

Luxembourg was the sole Ballydoyle representative last year, but there have been multiple Ballydoyle representatives in the race seven times in the last 10 years, and the shortest-priced horse has been beaten by a lesser-fancied stable companion on four occasions.

Salt Lake City did disappoint on his only previous visit to Britain, when he finished 15th of 17 in the Convivial Maiden at York’s Ebor meeting in August, but you can allow him that, the ground was very fast that day, and Ryan Moore eased off on him once he started to weaken two furlongs out.

He was very good on his racecourse debut, when he kept on well to finish second behind subsequent National Stakes winner Al Riffa, who had had the benefit of a run, in a maiden at the Curragh in early August, and he bounced back form his disappointing York run last time when he won a mile maiden at Navan on soft ground.

He was good that day too, he led from early and it never really looked like he wouldn’t win. He powered away from Dutch Gold on the run up the hill, he won by five lengths in the end, and Dutch Gold was, in turn, well clear of the remainder.

His dam won the Queen Mary Stakes and the Flying Childers, but he is by Galileo and he stayed Navan’s mile well on soft ground last time. He should relish the test that the Vertem Futurity poses.

Of course, he is going to have to improve from his maiden win if he is going to win today’s contest, but he showed a really likeable attitude at Navan, he has lots of potential for improvement, and Wayne Lordan’s record on him reads 21.

It is obviously a really interesting race, Epictetus was only just beaten by Silver Knott in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket last time, a race in which Chesham Stakes winner Holloway Boy was third, while Stormbuster won the Haynes, Hanson & Clark Conditions Stakes at Newbury last time by five lengths, and the imposing King Of Steel looked very good in winning his maiden on soft ground at Nottingham 10 days ago on his racecourse debut.

But Salt Lake City is a bigger price than all of those rivals at present, and he may represent the value of the race.

Cheltenham

Botox Has could be the answer to the Pertemps Qualifier at Cheltenham.

Winner of a four-year-olds’ hurdle at this meeting in 2020, Gary Moore’s horse didn’t win again until he won the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell last February, but he ran good races in defeat over three miles at Cheltenham last December and again back at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. He has won twice and finished second twice and third once in seven runs at the track.

He battled on well to get back up and beat the talented Brewin’upastorm at Fontwell, over a distance that was almost certainly short of his best. He hasn’t run since, but he won on his seasonal return in 2019 and in 2020. He should appreciate the return to Cheltenham and the step back up in trip, and Gary Moore has his team in fine form.

Recommended

Salt Lake City, 3.35 Doncaster, 11/1 (generally), 1 point win

Botox Has, 3.50 Cheltenham, 6/1 (generally), 1 point each-way