Auguste Rodin arguably had to work a bit harder than expected in order to justify short odds in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Naas.

Sent off at 30/100 on the back of a promising debut effort at the Curragh, the son of Deep Impact momentarily looked in trouble over a furlong out before battling on strongly under Seamie Heffernan.

Always front rank, the Aidan O'Brien trained colt travelled easily into the race but Red Letter Bray appeared to be going better as the race unfolded. To the winners credit, he responded to pressure and ultimately won with something to spare.

“He had a lovely first run and he was an easy winner,” said Heffernan.

“He gives me the feel of a proper horse. Hopefully he keeps getting stronger. He won easy and it was nice to do the steering.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson