Aidan O'Brien repeatedly referred to Auguste Rodin as "unique" after watching the son of Deep Impact hand him a record-extending ninth Betfred Derby (G1) June 3, but the most unique individual standing in Epsom's famous winner's enclosure was the winning trainer.
ICYMI, the (GI) 🏆 Epsom Derby! Congratulations to @coolmorestud and @Ballydoyle on your victory with AUGUSTE RODIN (IRE) in the hands of Ryan Moore. @JoaquinJaime_ and @Gabby_Gaudet_ recap the race. @EpsomRacecourse coverage is brought to you by @LanesEndFarms. pic.twitter.com/3Kj5x22kXQ
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) June 3, 2023
O'Brien, of course, would hear none of it, instead deflecting praise to what felt like every member of staff at Coolmore Stud and his all-conquering Ballydoyle training base, each of whom he named individually. But the facts don't lie and, off the back of an abysmal run in the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) from Auguste Rodin, O'Brien had defied history to win a classic generally accepted to be the greatest test of a Thoroughbred.
Dr Devious in 1992 was the last horse to achieve anything resembling what Auguste Rodin achieved. The Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained colt had finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby (G1) before winning at Epsom, but Auguste Rodin's prep in the Guineas was considerably more modest, having been beaten 22 lengths when 12th in the Guineas at Newmarket.
While O'Brien stepped back from the plaudits, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who along with John Magnier and Georg von Opel, own the winner, ensured their trainer's achievement did not pass without the admiration it deserved.
"He's a genius," said Tabor. "His record speaks for itself. He produces the animal on the day to get the maximum of their ability. It's not just once or twice, he regularly does it, and that in itself speaks volumes of the genius he is."
Smith added: "This was a great training feat. Aidan was happy to write the Guineas off as a non-event and the program carried on. He's won nine Derbys so knows what it takes but this was a great training performance from Aidan and a great ride from Ryan Moore."
The fact O'Brien was never deterred from aiming at the Derby after Newmarket says it all about Auguste Rodin. Even last year he was talking about the colt as some sort of extraterrestrial and went as far as calling him the most "important" and "special" horse he has ever seen at Ballydoyle.
He turned in a special race Saturday in defeating a clear-cut runner-up in King of Steel and third-place White Birch.
"He was very special as a 2-year-old," said O'Brien. "His movement was so good; spectacular. He's got an unbelievable, economical way of going, but his movement is incredible. It's very different and we always felt he was the most special horse we've had in Ballydoyle."
"I spoke to (jockey) Ryan (Moore) in the car on the way in and he said he was going to ride him on feel, and that's what he did," revealed O'Brien. "Maybe we would have preferred a stronger pace for him; the pace was slow and Ryan was back a good bit, so he had to cope with a lot. Usually, when you're taking your time and the pace is strong the pace comes back to you, but he had to go and chase the pace. Ryan said he had to quicken twice on him because he got there going too easy and then he had to go again."
O'Brien revealed that the original plan with the winner had been to try and emulate Nijinski, the last champion to complete the Triple Crown of the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby, and St Leger in 1970, but always felt the Guineas was the one that was going to be hardest to achieve due to his middle-distance pedigree.
"We knew the first one would be the toughest as everything would have to fall right for him and everything went totally wrong, but he came out of the race great and that was the massive thing," he said. "It was one of those days at Newmarket. You control the things that you can control but when the variables that you can't control all start falling against you, you can't stop that. Every step of the way everything fell against him."
Moore, winning the Derby for the third time, said he felt like he always had matters in hand, with the quicker ground compared to Newmarket a significant factor in his partner's improvement.
"He got the trip very well and he was very comfortable throughout the race," the rider said. "I felt like he was doing it easy. He always felt like he was going beautifully and I think this quicker ground is a big help to him."
Both trainer and jockey seemed relaxed about campaigning the winner over either 10 or 12 furlongs in the future but the Irish Derby (G1), a tried and tested route with O'Brien's previous Derby winners, appeared the most likely next destination.
"He's free of the shackles now," said O'Brien. "The Curragh would be an obvious choice for him, but we'll see how the horse is and what the lads want to do."
After what the record-breaking trainer had just achieved, you fancy he could suggest a novice hurdle campaign, and the Coolmore "lads" would be happy. Nothing, it seems, is beyond the realms of possibility when it comes to O'Brien.
