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. Ryan Moore sides with Auguste Rodin, while Dylan Browne McMonagle is on Los Angeles and Declan McDonogh takes the ride on Luxembourg.
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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