Auguste Rodin is set to form part of a five-strong Aidan O’Brien team for the King George and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot on Saturday week.
He’ll be bidding to follow in the hoofprints of Galileo by landing the all-aged mid-summer showpiece having completed the Derby double.
Speaking on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast the trainer said: “That (Ascot) was the plan then and he’s still on the plan so far. He’s on that programme and so far, everything is going well. If everything is well the King George is the plan – it was – and everything is going well so far.
“We could have a few runners in it. Luxembourg is a very strong possible at the moment as is Pont Lonsdale. Broome could and probably will go to Goodwood for the two-mile race. Bolshoi Ballet is a strong possibility for Ascot and then obviously Auguste Rodin. We’ll have to see how Adelaide River came out of the Grand Prix de Paris and give him a bit of time before we decide about him.”
The trainer doesn’t agree the weight-for-age scale suits three-year-olds at this time of year despite the wins of Paddington in the Coral-Eclipse and Shaquille in the Pertemps Network July Cup.
“Age is a massive thing for a thoroughbred – they usually improve a lot three to four. We would find that physically and mentally, and you can see rapid improvement in terms of body weight and body strength from three to four so you need a very good three-year-old to take on the older horses really," he added.
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