By Tom Frary
Ballydoyle's G1 Irish Champion Stakes hero Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) will face seven rivals as he breaks from stall four bidding for back-to-back renewals of the Royal Bahrain-sponsored Leopardstown feature on Saturday. Aidan O'Brien has last year's runner-up Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) engaged with first-time cheekpieces in stall seven, along with the G1 Irish Derby hero Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in five and pacemaker Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in six to make up half the field.
William Haggas would have been dealt a blow by the outside draw of the current favourite Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who is the leading protagonist taking on Team Ballydoyle. Isa Salman Al Khalifa's progressive G2 Dante Stakes and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano winner is joined by fellow 3-year-old colt Ghostwriter (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), with Jeff Smith's G1 Eclipse Stakes and G1 Juddmonte International third in two next to Susumu Fujita's G1 Tokyo Yushun third Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in three. Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's outsider Royal Rhyme (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) completes the line-up.
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