This is far from a vintage Prince of Wales's - but we still have a big clash to savour

1110110110 might read like a random binary sequence, but it's actually a snapshot of the Prince of Wales's Stakes favourite's form figures from July 2022 to March 2024. Quite simply, there cannot be a higher-profile zig-zag horse over the past decade than Auguste Rodin.

Superb at his best and lifeless at his worst, Auguste Rodin receives more than his fair share of passes. Aidan O'Brien's unpredictable star has been sent off favourite for 11 of his 12 starts yet lost five of them. The two '2s' that at this point bookend Auguste Rodin's career might have been shunned from the ten-digit pattern in the opening line, but they have contributed towards the series of short-price reverses from this equine Jekyll and Hyde.

Auguste Rodin's latest runner-up finish came in the Tattersalls Gold Cup. Even allowing for the fact White Birch stamped his superiority over Auguste Rodin at the Curragh, the market still wanted to forgive him. That White Birch failed to appear among the Prince of Wales's final declarations has softened Auguste Rodin's task, as has last week's news concerning the absence of Passenger at Ascot.