The second day at Roya Ascot was all about Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien with last year’s sometimes enigmatic Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin pulling out his A game to win the Group I Prince of Wales’s Stakes (1m2f) while the much missed legendary sire Galileo added a new stakes-winner to his tally.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Deep Impact colt Auguste Rodin tends to be either on or off with his glittering race record highlighted by some spectacular wins in Group I races such as the Epsom and Irish Derbies, the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders Cup Turf interspersed with a couple of inexplicable flops.
He started this year with a no show in Dubai for the Group I Sheema Classic and was then second the Group I Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, but it was the true Auguste Rodin that stepped out at Ascot last night.
Ridden a positive race by Ryan Moore, Auguste Rodin swept to the front and then held off a couple of French challengers Zarakem and Horizon Dore to win by three-quarters of a length with star mare Inspiral finishing sixth.
“Auguste gets a mile and a half very well but when he gets to the front he waits, so I was probably giving him the wrong instructions all along. We were riding him too far back and when there was no pace, he was too far out of the race,” said Aidan O’Brien, who was presented with a special saddlecloth celebrating his 400th flat Group I winner.
“We changed everything, Ryan said he was going to ride him positive from now on and engage him straight away. Honestly, I feel the blips were my fault, the instructions were wrong, and it was time to start getting it right. We saw today, when he gets to the front he waits, and then he goes again. He has a personality. Good horses, they have to develop a personality. And Ryan gave him a very special ride. He can do anything, he can go to America. It's totally dependant on what the lads want to do.”
“He’s a great little horse. Okay, a few times it hasn’t happened, but there have been reasons every time,” said Ryan Moore.
“People are always very quick to knock horses. As soon as they get beat, they want to have a go at you. Every time you send them away, they have a pop at that as well.
“He took me there, going very well, and when I asked him, he really showed great courage. He wanted to win and is a proper horse. He’s been a real good horse and he did everything beautifully – he deserved that.”
Bred by the Coolmore partners, Auguste Rodin has the overall record of eight wins from 13 starts. He is the first winner for Galileo’s Champion 2YO Filly and Older Female Miler Filly and triple Group I winner Rhododendron. A full sister to seven time Group I winner Magical from Group I winning Pivotal mare Halfway to Heaven, this is an exceptional family that has also produced Group I winners Photo Call and Victoria Road, who is by Deep Impact stallion Saxon Warrior.
Auguste Rodin is the third G1 winner among seven stakes-winners bred by Deep Impact from daughters of Galileo. The nick has produced 29 winners from 41 runners, so 70% winner to runner and 17% SW to runner.
Champion sire Galileo has along history of success at Royal Ascot and his three year-old colt Illinois delivered another feature win for Team Coolmore when taking out the Group II Queen’s Vase (1m6f)
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, Illinois was a short priced favourite and scored a length and a quarter win over his stablemate Highbury, another son of Galileo.
“He's obviously a St Leger-type horse and is going to improve from three to four. He's a bit of a baby mentally still, so he might have a little rest now and maybe go to York on the way to the Leger, something like that,” said Aidan O’Brien.
“I think he might have a little bit more class than a Cup horse. His sister won the Arc, so he's that type.”
A homebred for the Coolmore partners, Illinois has two wins and three placings from five starts and is a half-brother to Champion 3YO Filly Danedream and full brother to Group winners Broadway and Venice Beach from outstanding producer Danedrop.
He is the 376th stakes-winner for champion sire Galileo, who passed away in 2021 and his final small crop of foals will race this year as two year-olds.
The Group II Queen Mary Stakes (5f) was the highlight race for the two year-old fillies and attracted a big field of 24 runners with victory going to the Karl Burke trained filly Leovanni, a daughter of Kodiac stallion Kodi Bear.
She won on debut at Nottingham earlier this month and kept up the good work to go two for two winning by nearly two lengths for James Doyle.
“She's got a fantastic mind, this filly. Not just for a two-year-old - for a breeze-up two-year-old she's unbelievable. So relaxed and that's all credit going forward - that will be a great help to her. I'm sure she'll stay six,” said Karl Burke.
Leovanni was a pinhook winner before her racetrack success purchased initially for 20,000 guineas from the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 3,4 and then re-offered at the Goffs UK Breeze Up Sale where she was bought by Blandford Bloodstock for £190,000.
She is the second winner and first stakes-winner from Kassandra, a placed half-sister by Dandy Man to stakes-winning sprinter Majestic Myles. Her fourth dam is Champion US 2YO Filly Talking Picture, who is also the third dam of Champion Stayer Kyprios, who won the Group I Ascot Gold Cup in 2022 and will run as favourite in the race again tomorrow.
Leovanni is the ninth stakes-winner for Kodi Bear, who stands at Rathbarry Stud at a fee of 15,000 euros.
