O'Brien ponders Betfred Derby alternatives

Aidan O'Brien's Betfred Derby hopes may be pinned to one horse as he ponders alternative options for his other entrants.

The Ballydoyle trainer's leading Derby chance is Auguste Rodin, winner of the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes and the Vertem Futurity Trophy as a two-year-old.

The son of Deep Impact is out of a Group One-winning mare in Rhododendron and was the 13-8 favourite for the 2000 Guineas as he started his season on the Rowley Mile.

The race was a totally luckless affair for the colt, however, as he and stablemate Little Big Bear were unplaced after the latter finished lame and the former suffered interference early on.

Epsom on 3 June is still the next step for Auguste Rodin, as the Newmarket run has a line drawn firmly through it.

O'Brien said: "We think what happened was that Little Big Bear got galloped into and he got knocked over on top of Auguste Rodin and wiped him out.

"Then he ended up getting caught in a pocket for a couple of furlongs. It was a bit of a non-event and Ryan (Moore) accepted it.

"We always knew that for him going to the Guineas every single thing was going to have to fall right for him because he is a middle-distance horse.

"Obviously it didn't and the rest is history. What we are very happy with is the way he came out of the race, he came out of it very well.

"All the signs are very good with him since, so we just put a line through it and look forward on to the Derby because that was always the plan. We're looking forward to that now.

"There are other horses in it, but I'd imagine he'll definitely be the main one."

Among the other horses in question are San Antonio, winner of the Dee Stakes at Chester, and Adelaide River, second in the Chester Vase at the same meeting.

Both hold a Derby entry