Auguste Rodin: does brave decision need to buck trend?

The news that Auguste Rodin will remain in training as a four-year-old has prompted much excitement, but he will need to buck a worrying trend to justify that brave decision.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge is set to become the sixth straight Derby winner from Epsom to race on the following season – and things have not exactly worked out well for the previous five.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how those Classic victors fared:

Sir Michael Stoute’s charge was a classy scorer at Epsom last year but failed to reappear that season due to injury setbacks. He made a promising return to action the following May when going down by just half a length to Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown but then struggled to stay sound again and was sadly put down after fracturing a fetlock on the gallops.

Godolphin’s son of Frankel stayed on strongly to romp home by four and a half lengths in the 2021 blue riband event at 16-1 and followed up with victory in the King George at Ascot becoming the first since Galileo to do the double. However, he could only land a low-key Doncaster conditions race at four before finishing second in the Champion Stakes. At five, Adayar won the Group Three Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket but was then third in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and was beaten at 1-3 in Group Two company at Newmarket on his final start before retirement.

Aidan O’Brien’s Galileo colt sprang a 25-1 surprise in the 2020 Derby and his subsequent exploits have certainly suggested that was a flash in the pan. After finishing well beaten in three starts at four, he was gelded and sent to Australia, where he has failed to win in 12 outings. Although placed three times in Group-class company, Serpentine has been tailed off in both of his attempts at Melbourne Cup glory.

Another Ballydoyle charge who showed plenty of spirit to prevail at Epsom in 2019 but that proved to be his sole Group One success. His four-year-old campaign began brightly enough with second place behind Ghaiyyath in the Coronation Cup but he was a disappointing favourite in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot. The son of Galileo did do well to edge out Stradivarius in the Group Two Prix Foy at Longchamp and only went down by a head in the 18-runner Caulfield Cup in Australia, but he was then fatally injured during the 2020 Melbourne Cup.

Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin colt stayed on strongly to land the 2018 Derby at 16-1 but injury problems then kept him off the track for 385 days. When he returned to action at four, the son of New Approach was a moderate fifth in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot and then finished last of six at Group Two level at Newmarket before being sent to stud.