Auguste Rodin will attempt a rare feat at The Curragh Sunday (2 July) when impeccably-bred colt bids to add the G1 Irish Derby (2400m) to last month’s Epsom Derby Stakes triumph.

The son of Deep Impact – Japan’s greatest ever sire – was brilliant at two, but left unanswered questions when a remote 12th of 14 in the G1 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Newmarket in May, a fiasco subsequently banished from memory when he surged past outsider King Of Steel who had briefly looked like stealing the iconic G1 Epsom Classic (2405m).

King Of Steel went on to dominate the G2 King Edward VII Stakes (2392m) while Epsom sixth Waipiro, who shortly leaves for Hong Kong to be targeted towards next March’s BMW Hong Kong Derby, further bolstered Auguste Rodin’s Derby exploits when shooting clear of his rivals in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes (1993m), both prestigious Royal Ascot events.

Speaking from The Curragh on Friday (30 June) where he sent out three winners, O’Brien said: “We were feeling our way with Auguste Rodin at Epsom as it was his first run over a mile and a half but that went very well as has everything since. He is straightforward and a beautiful moving horse with good ground always what we felt would be ideal.”

Conditions are likely to be similar on Sunday.

O’Brien trains four of the other eight Irish Derby contenders but the majority of observers believe that the main threats come from the dynamic grey White Birch (Dylan McMonagle) and Sprewell (Shane Foley). They finished third and fourth, respectively, at Epsom with neither having ideal trips around those famously challenging contours.

White Birch was slow from the gates and always playing catch-up which he was doing in the last 400m, whilst Sprewell met with interference also becoming unbalanced at a crucial stage on ground much faster than he had previously encountered.

Trainer Mrs John Harrington says of Sprewell, who had easily won the G3 Leopardstown Derby Trial (2000m) in May: “He hasn’t run at The Curragh before but I am thinking that it will suit him better than Epsom. We have seven lengths to make up with Auguste Rodin but you don’t go into these races thinking it will be great if we finish second. I know that there are always hard luck stories at Epsom but there is no doubt that Sprewell was unlucky that day.”

Apart from Auguste Rodin, there are no other red-hot favourites in the seven other highly competitive races on the first-ever Irish Derby Day with World Pool involvement.

The opening event is the G2 Railway Stakes, a 1200m dash for two-year-olds. The speedy Bucanero Fuerte (Rossa Ryan) was a close third in Royal Ascot’s G2 Coventry Stakes (1200m) last month and is expected to be a leading contender.