Group 1 breakthrough for White Birch as he takes scalp of Auguste Rodin in Tattersalls Gold Cup

Any doubts about whether last year's Derby third White Birch is a genuine Group 1 horse were blown away when the four-year-old produced a top-class performance to land the Tattersalls Gold Cup for trainer John Murphy and jockey Colin Keane.

Murphy, whose previous best achievement was winning the 2006 Queen Mother Champion Chase with Newmill, completed a unique feat for a Cork-based trainer by winning a Grade 1 over jumps and a Group 1 on the Flat.  

White Birch hinted he was heading towards the top table with victory in the Mooresbridge Stakes here earlier in the month, but this performance was on another level. 

Keane tracked Ryan Moore on favourite Auguste Rodin throughout, and the way he travelled to the top of the straight indicated it was just a matter of picking off the 11-10 favourite, and so it proved. When Keane popped the question, White Birch quickened past the dual Derby winner to score readily by three lengths, with a further eight lengths back to the third.

George Murphy, the winning trainer's assistant and son, said: “Roger O'Callaghan recommended White Birch to us initially. He wasn't really a breeze-up type and we bought into him after he was broken. We were very lucky and look at him now, he's top class. He's got a lot stronger and just seems to be doing things very easily now. He's a serious horse and that was a top-class performance.

“Dropping him back to a mile and a quarter has improved him. He came from off the pace a few times last year after he was a bit slow leaving the gate, and maybe that made him look like more of a stayer but he always had plenty of boot. He's showing everyone what he can do this year.”

White Birch and Colin Keane come back in after the Tattersalls Gold CupCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

White Birch was shortened to 4-1 (from 12) by Coral for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and to the same price (from 14) for the Eclipse.

“It couldn't have gone better,” said Keane. “When I got to the two-pole I wanted to be behind Ryan Moore for as long as I needed to and when I asked him he quickened away well. He was a very nice horse last year and he's matured massively from three to four. 

"He has a bit of pace and just cantered into it. He quickened up nicely. He wasn't straightforward last year but John and George have found the knack to him. They deserve it.”

After his poor display at Meydan in March the biggest question before the race was how last year's Derby hero Auguste Rodin would perform.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien said: “He ran a very good race. We knew the ground wasn't going to be ideal but he's on the way back. The winner liked the ground. It was a long way to come back from Dubai but I think we did. 

"He just had a bit of a speed wobble coming down the hill and lost a bit of momentum at a bad time of the race, but he'll be fine. He'll go for the Prince of Wales's Stakes now.”

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