AIDAN O’Brien has a record eight wins in the Derby already but admitted this week that a win for Auguste Rodin today could mean that bit more.

The son of Deep Impact has been a great white hope for O’Brien and the Coolmore partners after he managed to overcome testing ground in the Group 1 Vertem Futurity last September and despite beating only two home in the 2000 Guineas, the confidence in this colt has never wavered from O’Brien and consequently from the bookmakers as he is near certain to go off favourite today.

A Derby win would get the show back on the road and obviously be massive for Auguste Rodin’s stallion prospects, which have become increasingly more significant for John Magnier et al following the death of the great Galileo.

Asked about the significance of this colt winning a Derby, O’Brien said: “He is a collector’s item really. He is out of Rhododendron, one of the best Galileo mares ever and by Deep Impact, one of the greatest Japanese stallions ever, so he is very unique and rare.

“You can do all sorts of things but when you get a horse that’s bred like that, looks like that, moves like that and with a pedigree like that, and has the ability he has, it’s very rare, very unusual really.

“The Derby is the race where all the horses come together and then you find out and that is the way it is every year. They can have done whatever in their trials but it is only when they get to Epsom over that track and that distance that you find out – that is why it is the ultimate test.”

Plenty will look at the Derby betting today and wonder how Auguste Rodin can be so short after his Newmarket no-show. That is a very fair observation but O’Brien’s words rightfully carry plenty of weight, and the latest example of that formidable judgement was provided at the weekend when both Luxembourg and Little Big Bear bounced back from very disappointing seasonal debuts.

On Auguste Rodin’s 12th place finish at Newmarket, O’Brien said: “There are a lot of factors that we think happened in Newmarket that we couldn’t control and we didn’t think or see anything to make us bear from our original plan to go for the Derby.

“A mile was always going to be his hardest test and everything needed to go right and obviously that did not happen – the opposite did in fact.

“He’s a beautiful moving horse and soft ground was always going to be a worry for him. There was also the trip which was always going to be plenty short enough for him and he also needed a clear run and Little Big Bear galloped back into him. Ryan then got stuck in a pocket and there was no pace in the race.

“So many things went wrong and our plan to fly over on the morning was not possible – any one of the factors could have been detrimental and they all happened on the same day.”

On this occasion O’Brien has chosen to fly over this team two days in advance to allow them to get used to their surroundings. Auguste Rodin is joined by Dee Stakes winner San Antonio and Adelaide River.

That is something the Ballydoyle trainer can control but the planned protests from the Animal Rising group will be out of his and his fellow trainers’ hands.

“The protests are just one of those things and are out of our control,” O’Brien said. “Things happen every day to us all and you try and make the best of every situation whatever way it falls. It will be the same for everybody.

“Any protest is not ideal for anyone – both the people, the horses and everyone involved. Hopefully they will see sense – the welfare of the animals and people is what comes first.”