Rodin rises to the occasion

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Auguste Rodin proved too strong for his rivals when landing the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown.

The beautifully-bred son of Deep Impact and three-time Group 1 winner Rhododendron went to post an 11/10 shot to step up from his Naas maiden win.

Ryan Moore tracked the leaders in the mile contest before asking his mount to take closer order passing the two pole.

He gained a narrow lead passing the furlong marker and kept on well, despite drifting to his right in the closing stages, to post a length-and-a-half success over Caroline Street

O’Brien said:- “His dam was obviously very good and to send her over to Japan to Deep Impact was unbelievable. It was incredible to have that foresight to do it.

“He’s a good traveller, a lovely mover, so will appreciate nice ground when he gets it. He’s a horse with a lot of quality and one to look forward to next year.

“Ryan said he probably had to go a little bit earlier than he wanted but was very happy with him.

“He could go to Doncaster or the Dewhurst. He was plenty of class and quality and probably will sharpen up a lot from today.

“We thought he could be a Derby horse that could start in the Guineas. He could end up a mile and a quarter horse.

“At home he knew more than the other horse (Tower Of London). Ideally we would have preferred to take our time a bit more with him but there was going to be no pace and something had to go a sensible gallop. It may not have suited him doing that.”

(Quotes by Alan Magee)