Father beat son in the O’Brien family’s head-to-head at Chester on Thursday, as Aidan O’Brien’s San Antonio made the most of a difficult passage in the Dee Stakes for Alder, trained by his son Donnacha, to win the day’s Derby trial by just under two lengths.
Of greater significance with the Classic in mind, however, was the fact that the winning trainer was on the Roodee, and so able to confirm that Auguste Rodin, the well-beaten favourite in the 2,000 Guineas, remains his No 1 hope for Epsom on June 3rd.
In the run-up to the Newmarket Classic, O’Brien made it clear that he saw Auguste Rodin as his best prospect for some years for a run at the Triple Crown. That dream got no further than the first, and most difficult, leg but the trainer’s faith in Auguste Rodin’s talent is undiminished.
“Not really,” O’Brien said after the Dee, when asked if San Antonio’s success had rearranged the Ballydoyle pecking order.
“We’ve always thought the world of Auguste Rodin as everything came so easily to him. He’s come out of the Guineas well and will go to straight for the Derby.”
Auguste Rodin is unlikely to be the stable’s only Derby runner, as in addition to San Antonio – who is 25-1 from 50-1 for the Classic – O’Brien also has two more trialists to come over the next few days.
“With the Lingfield trial [on Saturday] now on the all-weather, Bertinelli will go there,” O’Brien said. “The horse we would have run at Lingfield [Gooloogong] might go [straight] to Epsom and Continuous heads for the Dante at York [on Thursday].”
Alder, meanwhile, is possibly the better long-term prospect from Thursday’s race, as he did well to get as close as he did to the winner from a distinctly unpromising position two out.
“The race was a bit of a mess and in ground I didn’t think he would like, I actually think he ran very well,” Donnacha O’Brien said. “He quickened up nicely, then just flattened out in that ground, but I was very happy with him.
“We’ll take him home and see how he comes out of it and make a plan then. For sure he could go to one of the Derbys, either Epsom or the Curragh or something like that.
“You have very little chance from out back when they go that slow, but that’s racing and that’s Chester.” – Guardian
