LEGENDARY trainer Aidan O'Brien could flex his muscles in the King George at Ascot later this month.
O'Brien has suggested he could run as many as FIVE horses in the £1.25 million race, including his Derby hero Auguste Rodin.
That sets up the mouthwatering prospect of a rematch with King Of Steel, who was second in the Derby and has since won impressively at Royal Ascot.
Emily Upjohn, Westover and 2022 Derby hero Desert Crown could also run in a star-studded race next weekend.
It was expected that top three-year-old Auguste Rodin, who has since followed up in the Irish Derby at the Curragh, would be Ballydoyle's only runner in the race.
But speaking on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, O'Brien confirmed he is likely to be sending over a formidable team.
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Among them will be Luxembourg, who was second in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Adelaide River, who pushed Auguste Rodin close in the Irish Derby before finishing second in the Grand Prix de Paris, could also make the journey over.
And longshots Point Lonsdale and Bolshoi Ballet, who will likely be employed as pacemakers in the big race on July 29, are also set to get on the plane over from Ireland.
O'Brien said: “Ascot was the plan for Auguste Rodin before the Curragh and he’s still on the plan so far. He’s on that programme and so far, everything is going well.
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"If everything is well the King George is the plan – it was – and everything is going well so far.
“We could have a few runners in it. Luxembourg is a very strong possible at the moment as is Pont Lonsdale.
"Bolshoi Ballet is a strong possibility for Ascot and then obviously Auguste Rodin.
"We’ll have to see how Adelaide River came out of the Grand Prix de Paris and give him a bit of time before we decide about him.”
O'Brien has already won several big races in Britain this summer and he is 6-4 second favourite behind John and Thady Gosden (4-5) with Sky Bet to win his seventh British trainer's title this year.
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