Plenty of statistical landmarks could emerge from Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, although the most significant might be that Auguste Rodin becomes the 19th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh double.
Should the hot favourite emerge on top it will fill the one gap in jockey Ryan Moore’s otherwise stellar Classic CV.
At the other end of the spectrum, it would be a record-extending 15th Irish Derby success for Aidan O’Brien and in the process take the trainer to a once scarcely imaginable 100 European Classic victories.
O’Brien’s feat in transforming Auguste Rodin from Guineas flop to Derby hero at Epsom four weeks ago ranks among the finest in his groundbreaking 30-year career.
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Now the colt has a shot at becoming the first since Harzand in 2016 to pull off the Derby double in a €1.25 million feature due off at 3.40 and live on RTÉ One.
It is the first time since 2011 the race is run on a Sunday, partly due to the inclusion of Sunday’s Curragh card on the Tote World Pool.
Depending on turnover generated in 28 countries betting into the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s commingling pool it could see a dividend of up to €500,000 for Irish racing’s HQ.
Given Thursday’s bombshell revelations at the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board that have prompted an independent investigation into financial matters of grave concern, they are more welcome kinds of figures ahead of perhaps flat racing’s biggest date of the year.
Central to the 158th Irish Derby, however, remains Auguste Rodin’s status as Europe’s top-rated three-year-old on the back of his Epsom victory.
He is the first Epsom winner to line up at the Curragh in four years, during which time concerns expanded about slipping prestige and sliding relevance when it comes to the Irish Derby.
Over the years O’Brien’s dominance prompted competition fears but his decision to run Auguste Rodin on Sunday is a timely boost to the Irish Derby’s reputation.
The son of legendary Japanese sire Deep Impact will be surrounded by friendly faces too.
A quartet of Ballydoyle stable companions pad the Derby field out to nine, which also include hopes trained by O’Brien’s sons Donnacha and Joseph. The siblings famously combined to deny their father with Latrobe in 2018.
The only two non-O’Brien runners are White Birch and Sprewell, third and fourth respectively behind Auguste Rodin at Epsom.
Champion apprentice Dylan Browne McMonagle, 20, has a first Derby spin on White Birch, who would be a fairytale first Group One winner for his Co Cork trainer John Murphy.
White Birch has over five lengths to make up on Epsom form and is a 5-1 second favourite with most layers.
Shane Foley again takes the mount on Sprewell, who met with interference in the straight at Epsom. Foley has made it back in time after breaking his collarbone at Gowran over three weeks ago. He returns to action on Saturday with three rides at HQ.
After a pair of cross-channel based winners, Sunday’s race is an all-domestic affair, although top English rider Tom Marquand has been drafted in to ride the Ballydoyle outsider Peking Opera.
Veteran jockey Séamus Heffernan is on another O’Brien hopeful in Adelaide River. He is the only one of the nine riders to have won the Irish Derby before.
The most recent of Heffernan’s four previous winners was Santiago in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the Irish Derby taking place before Epsom.
The prospect of an Epsom winner proceeding to try and double up at the Curragh will make for a welcome return to an old normal although Moore is taking little for granted.
“His [Auguste Rodin] chance is obvious, as his price suggests, but there are few certainties in racing,” reported Moore, who in 11 previous attempts to win the Irish Derby has twice finished runner-up and filled the third sport on three occasions.
“I am sure the connections of the Epsom third and fourth 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] if he runs up to the level of his form at Epsom, something is going to have improve markedly to beat him,” he added.
