Talking Horses: Frankie Dettori can land his final 2,000 Guineas on Chaldean

I f nothing else, the fact that the normally ultra-cautious Aidan O’Brien was happy to discuss Auguste Rodin as a potential Triple Crown prospect earlier this week suggests that the son of Deep Impact is his No 1 contender for next month’s Derby at Epsom by some distance.

Whether he has the speed to beat the specialist milers in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday, however, is another question entirely, as O’Brien also acknowledged.

“It [the Triple Crown] is a very hard thing to do and some time it would be great to do it,” O’Brien said. “If you don’t try, it won’t happen. You need class to give them the stamina and the speed that they need. He fits into that bracket at the moment and while it’s a dream, if you have a horse with a chance, we don’t want to take that chance away from them.”

With a record 10 wins in the 2,000 Guineas since 1998, O’Brien certainly knows what it takes to win the colts’ Classic at Newmarket. He also went closer to winning the Triple Crown than any trainer since 1970 when Camelot, at 2-5, came up three-quarters of a length short in the St Leger in 2012.

There is a reason why Nijinsky is still the only Triple Crown winner in the last 88 years, however, and the breeding industry’s focus on speed over stamina in recent decades means that it is now harder than ever for a thorough stayer to get over the line at Newmarket.

As a result, Auguste Rodin feels like a favourite to oppose at around 7-4 on Saturday, when he faces several speedily bred opponents with strong profiles as juveniles.

The list includes his stable companion, Little Big Bear, who is unraced since a seven-length Group One win last August, as well as Sakheer, Charlie Appleby’s unbeaten colt Noble Style and Chaldean (4.40),