Johnny Murtagh: 'Aidan did it with Yeats and he could do it again with Auguste Rodin in the Derby'

If anyone can do it, Aidan O'Brien can. That is the belief of former Ballydoyle number-one rider Johnny Murtagh on the chances of Auguste Rodin making a Lazarus-like recovery in the Betfred Derby (1.30) on Saturday.

The Derby favourite must bounce back from a horror show in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, where he trailed in 22 lengths behind Chaldean and only beat two home, but Murtagh pointed out that Yeats' historic fourth Gold Cup success in 2009 was preceded by a deplorable effort at Navan.

Yeats had been beaten 32 lengths into sixth by Alandi in the Vintage Crop Stakes, despite being sent off odds-on, but just over six weeks later the legendary stayer made history by winning the Royal Ascot showpiece in stunning style.

Murtagh said: "I don't really know what to make of the Derby, it's wide open and the draw will be very important, but the way Aidan's horses ran last weekend, there must be a great possibility that Auguste Rodin can do it.

"If anyone can do it, Aidan can. I suppose the most high-profile one to bounce back in my time there was Yeats. He bombed out completely at Navan on his return one year and then a few weeks later went on to win the Gold Cup. Aidan can get them back and we saw that with Little Big Bear at Haydock last weekend too."

He added: "Maybe Auguste Rodin just didn't have the speed for the Guineas either so with all the things that happened at Newmarket you can probably forgive him. He's a big talking horse down there in Ballydoyle so he's obviously doing plenty of things right."

Johnny Murtagh: "If anyone can do it, Aidan can"Credit: Patrick McCann

Murtagh, who won the Epsom Classic three times as a jockey on Sinndar (2000), High Chaparral (2002) and Motivator (2005) will be part of ITV's coverage of the meeting on Friday and Saturday.

O'Brien remains as bullish as ever about Auguste Rodin as the clock ticks down towards the Derby and hailed the Deep Impact colt a "collector's item" when speaking at a Jockey Club press conference on Wednesday. O'Brien said of the Derby favourite: "He's a collector's item. He's out of Rhododendron, probably one of the best Galileo mares ever, and by Deep Impact, one of the greatest Japanese stallions ever. He's very unique and rare.

"When you get a horse that's bred like that, looks like that, moves like that and has the ability he has is very rare, very unusual. He's been very special from day one. Nothing has changed our minds about him, the Guineas went wrong and we put it down to a non-event for him."

The master trainer remains adamant the 2,000 Guineas was an aberration, pointing out several things went against his colt on the day.

O'Brien explained: "There were a lot of factors that happened in Newmarket that we couldn't control and we haven't seen anything since to suggest why we should veer from our original plan. Running him over that short a trip meant every single beat had to go his way and instead every single beat went the opposite way. He is a beautiful moving horse so soft ground was always going to be a worry for him. The trip was going to be plenty short for him too.

"He needed a clear run and, when Little Big Bear got galloped into, he wiped out Ryan and then Ryan got stuck in a pocket and there was no pace in the race either.

"So many things went wrong. And we were going to fly on the morning and two days before that all changed and we couldn't do that. Any one of those things could have been detrimental by themselves but they all landed on him on the one day."

Betfred Derby (1.30 Epsom, Saturday)

Coral: 11-4 Auguste Rodin, 7-2 Military Order, 5 Passenger, 6 Arrest, 10 Sprewell, 12 The Foxes, 14 White Birch, Dubai Mile, 16 bar

Read these next:

Derby contenders complete prep - plus a rare sighting of a former trainer 

2023 Betfred Derby at Epsom: assessing the top contenders for Saturday's big race 

Who will win the 2023 Betfred Derby at Epsom on Saturday based on previous trends? 

Do you want £200+ of free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.