All systems go for Auguste Rodin and Dubai after Dundalk workout

Dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin has a ticket to Dubai booked for the Sheema Classic as a mixed turf and dirt campaign beckons.

The Deep Impact colt is out of multiple Group One winner Rhododendron and lived up to his exceptional pedigree when taking both the Derby and Irish Derby last term.

He capped his domestic season by winning another Group One title in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, after which he set sail for Santa Anita and defeated a competitive field to land the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

After that performance there was some discussion as to whether he would retire to stud or stay in training, with connections sportingly choosing the latter option.

A winter break followed and the four-year-old is due to return in the Sheema Classic, run over a mile and a half at the Dubai World Cup fixture in Meydan in late March.

Auguste Rodin did a piece of work on the all-weather track at Dundalk ahead of the journey, after which he has a turf campaign pencilled in before connections expect to discuss running him on a dirt surface.

O’Brien – who runs Luxembourg and Tower Of London in Saudi Arabia on Saturday – said: “That’s the plan for him, the Sheema Classic, then we were thinking of going back for the Tattersalls Gold Cup and then maybe to Ascot for the Prince of Wales’s.

“We’ll have a look at racing him on the dirt after that, it’s very possible with these types of horses that you can push the boundaries a bit and explore a little bit and see what happens.

“He was at Dundalk on Friday, he went a mile and a quarter with three other horses and went very well.

“He came back then and started preparing for Dubai, that’s the plan.”