Boasting the world record for Group 1 victories – with top-level wins in 11 nations – it is becoming increasingly difficult to name a global Group 1 prize that Aidan O’Brien hasn’t hauled home to his Ballydoyle base. However, there are still a few. Despite his best efforts, the Australian showpiece of the Melbourne Cup is missing from the O’Brien CV, and so too is the Japan Cup.
Taking place at Tokyo Racecourse in November each year and offering over £6 million (2023) in total prize money, this 1m4f contest is one of the most prestigious middle-distance contests on the planet. Considering that 1m4f distance, it is a little surprising that O’Brien is yet to saddle the winner, with many of his most talented performers thriving over the mile-and-a-half trip – the O’Brien CV certainly isn’t short on Derby, Irish Derby, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, or Breeders’ Cup Turf wins. However, all that could change in 2024, with rumours suggesting one of the stars of the Ballydoyle show may attempt to become the first European winner of the Japan Cup since the Luca Cumani-trained Alkaased in 2005.
Journalists and punters tend to hang on to every word of Aidan O’Brien. As such, a simple quote from the trainer suggesting that “Auguste Rodin could be a Japan Cup horse” was enough to set tongues wagging.
Racing’s Great Entertainer
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It is no surprise that racing fans are eager to consume anything Auguste Rodin-related, with the colt having presented a strong case for being the most entertaining horse in training over the past couple of seasons. We all admire brilliance – an attribute Auguste Rodin has by the bucketload – but equally, it’s hard not to love the element of the lovable rogue he also has in the locker.
2023 presented a tale of triumph and disaster – woeful in the 2,000 Guineas, impressive in the English and Irish Derby, beaten 127 lengths in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and back to his best in the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf, Auguste Rodin took supporters on a rollercoaster ride.
Fast forward to 2024, and the strapping colt threw the towel in when stone cold last in the Dubai Sheema Classic, was better but beaten in the Tattersalls Gold Cup before regaining the winning thread when staying on powerfully to land the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. What next, Auguste?
King George Redemption?
The Coral-Eclipse appeared a likely next port of call, but, unsurprisingly, given the presence of his stablemate City Of Troy in the field, Auguste Rodin will not take up his engagement in the Sandown showpiece. Instead, a return to the scene of his most recent success beckons, with O’Brien stating, “It looks the right fit to go back to Ascot for the King George”.
Hopefully, the race will go significantly better than the 2023 edition. Sent off as the 9/4f on the back of his Epsom and Curragh Derby double, Auguste Rodin rediscovered his 2,000 Guineas worst – managing to navigate beneath that low standard when struggling from the off before strolling over the line to finish last of the 10 runners. The odds compilers and punters seem to have forgiven that effort, with Auguste Rodin currently trading as a general 7/4f for the July 27 contest.
An Eastern Adventure?
However the King George pans out, Auguste Rodin seems likely to follow a similar path to last season – possibly taking in the Irish Champion Stakes before a tilt at a major international prize. In 2023, that contest was the Breeders’ Cup Turf, with connections likely drawing encouragement from that victory, which confirmed that, despite his foibles, Auguste Rodin travels well.
A defence of his Breeders’ Cup crown remains a possibility, but it is easy to understand why connections are looking East. Auguste Rodin’s sire, Deep Impact, landed the 2006 edition of the Japan Cup and has since proven a hugely successful sire of Japan Cup winners, producing Gentildonna (2012 and 2013), Shonan Pandora (2015), and Contrail (2021) to land the prize. Thoroughly proven at the trip and on quick turf, Auguste Rodin rates an obvious contender to break the Ballydoyle duck in the race.
Sixth Time Lucky
Whilst surprising at first glance, Aidan O’Brien’s sparse Japan Cup record lends a little perspective to his failure to win the race. Unlike many major global events – notably the Breeders’ Cup Meeting – O’Brien is a relatively infrequent visitor to Tokyo Racecourse. Nevertheless, the record-setting handler has sent five regally bred colts in pursuit of the prize over the years. Should Auguste Rodin become the sixth, connections will hope he fares better than his predecessors:
- Powerscourt (2004) – Sadler’s Wells colt who picked up Group 1 wins in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and Arlington Million but could manage only 10th in Japan.
- Joshua Tree (2010) – Globetrotting son of Montjeu who grabbed Grade 1 gold in the 2010, 2012, and 2013 editions of the Canadian International but trailed home in 10th in his Japan Cup bid.
- Idaho (2017) – Full brother to Highland Reel, who won three times in Group company but came up short in Tokyo. Nevertheless, his fifth-placed effort represents the best effort of an O’Brien runner to date.
- Capri (2018) – 2017 St Leger and Irish Derby champ. Sent off as an unfancied 31/1 shot in the Japan Cup, he performed up to expectations when finishing 11th.
- Japan – A Group 1 winner in France (Grand Prix de Paris) and Britain (Juddmonte International), Japan couldn’t repeat the trick in the country after which he was named – finishing eighth in 2021.