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Aidan O’Brien with the Prince of Wales after being presented with a saddle cloth representing his 400th Group One winner.Photograph: David Davies/PA
Aidan O’Brien has spent plenty of time kicking himself already this season, most notably over his preparation of City Of Troy for the 2,000 Guineas, and he was at it again here on Wednesday after Auguste Rodin’s three‑quarter‑length success in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
“Honestly, I feel the blips were my fault,” O’Brien said. “The instructions were wrong, and it was time to start getting it right.”
The blips in question were a complete no-show in the King George here last year and another in the Sheema Classic in Dubai three months ago, and since this was the sixth Group One win of Auguste Rodin’s career – and a staggering 400th at the highest level for O’Brien – it could be argued that, for the most part at least, he had been getting it right already.
Related: Royal Ascot 2024 day two: Auguste Rodin rules in Prince of Wales’s Stakes – live
But the 2023 Derby winner had started to acquire a reputation as an all-or-nothing performer, first or nowhere, and if O’Brien and Ryan Moore have indeed found the key to keeping Auguste Rodin interested then there will surely be more Group One wins on his record when the season draws to a close.
