It is one of the oldest dictums in racing that you should always forgive a good horse for one bad race, and it paid a rich dividend for favourite-backers at Epsom as Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy, beaten out of sight in the 2,000 Guineas last month, rediscovered his exceptional juvenile form to run out a convincing two-and-three-quarter-length winner of the 245th Derby.
“To be honest, it wasn’t very exciting,” Ryan Moore, City Of Troy’s jockey, said, but the punters who kept faith with the 3-1 shot after his flop at Newmarket would surely beg to differ. There was a very early drama as Voyage, the least experienced runner in the field, unshipped Pat Dobbs just after the start, and the loose horse soon worked his way to the front of the field.
A more immediate concern for Moore, who was towards the rear of the field from a tricky draw in stall one, was navigating a passage down the hill towards Tattenham Corner. City Of Troy was racing around a bend for the first time in his life, but he responded instantly as Moore steered around an outsider dropping back through the field, and having turned for home around four lengths behind his stable companions, Los Angeles and Euphoric, needed only a furlong to surge into the lead over two out.
Ambiente Friendly, the second-favourite, soon emerged from the pack to give chase but for practical purposes, the riderless Voyage was the only remaining obstacle to City Of Troy as he came home an easy winner.
Last year’s Derby, when Auguste Rodin bounced back from a 2,000 Guineas blowout of his own, was the obvious place to start the post-race analysis, but City Of Troy’s victory was in many respects an even more remarkable about-turn in form. He showed nothing at Newmarket, and his supporters were in effect staking their cash on O’Brien’s enduring belief in last year’s unbeaten champion juvenile, and the trainer’s conviction too that the Guineas flop was explained by City Of Troy getting upset in the stalls.
“Before he had a chance to get his breath back, he was out and gone,” O’Brien said. “It was two, two and a half weeks before we could put him in the stalls, and we had a FitBit on him and his heart rate went way above 240, standing in the stalls. For us, then we knew what happened at Newmarket. The next day, the FitBit showed he was calmer, a totally different heart profile.
“I think I left him too fresh and wasn’t hard enough on him during the winter. We hadn’t put him into the stalls because we never thought something like that could happen. You’re learning every year but the problem is, with a horse like that to make a mistake, it can cost so much.”
City Of Troy’s victory was a record-extending 10th Derby winner for O’Brien, and the trainer suggested that he is also the best yet, surpassing even his first winner, Galileo, in 2001.
Galileo was Europe’s dominant stallion for nearly 20 years until his death in July 2021, and City Of Troy, a son of Justify, the US Triple Crown winner on dirt in 2018, could yet prove to be equally important to the Coolmore Stud operation that supplies O’Brien with much of his ammunition.
“For us, Justify is the most incredible horse we have had,” O’Brien said. “The great stallion we had was Galileo. Justifys are Galileos with more class, which is a very hard thing to say, but we see it every day. The stride, the minds, the movement of them, they are quicker than Galileos, which makes them unbelievably exciting for us.”
Southwell: 2.15 Tropical Talent, 2.45 Taste The Fear, 3.15 Ava’s Angel, 3.45 Letterston Lily, 4.20 Backmersackme, 4.50 Glimpse Of Glory, 5.20 Elham Valley, 5.50 Malago Rose.
Leicester: 2.33 Rokuni, 3.03 Magic Rascal, 3.33 Forest Gate, 4.03 User Amistoso, 4.38 Hat Toss, 5.08 Alfred Cove.
Wolverhampton: 5.30 Where’s Clare, 6.00 Stoic Syd, 6.30 Wake Up Harry, 7.00 Blackjack, 7.30 Little Empire, 8.00 Coast (nap), 8.30 Due Date, 9.00 One Cool Dreamer.
Lingfield: 6.15 Warhol, 6.45 Al Qudra, 7.15 Mick’s Spirit, 7.45 Queen’s Guard (nb), 8.15 Blacklion, 8.45 Camacho Man.
Had City Of Troy lived up to his billing in the 2,000 Guineas last month, the pressure to send him to Doncaster for the final leg of the English Triple Crown would have been immense. With that possibility no longer in play, however, there are all manner of interesting possibilities opening up instead, including the hugely ambitious option of a run on the US dirt on which his sire was so dominant.
“The lads [in the Coolmore syndicate] had it in their heads that he could go to Saratoga, obviously they will think about it and talk between themselves and come back to us with a plan,” O’Brien said of the Travers Stakes on 24 August. “It’s a definite possibility.”
Newton Abbot: 2.10 Pentire Head, 2.40 Huelgoat, 3.10 Saint Bibiana, 3.40 American Gerry, 4.10 Manor Park, 4.40 King’s Castle, 5.15 City Roller.
Nottingham: 2.27 Fanzone, 2.57 Leovanni, 3.27 Fantasy Master, 3.57 Animato, 4.27 Phoenix Passion, 4.57 Snooze Lane.
Kempton: 5.05 Powdering, 5.35 Jewel Of London, 6.10 Ten Pounds, 6.40 Cat Ninja, 7.15 Galloping On, 7.45 Forever A Diamond, 8.15 Charging Thunder (nb), 8.50 Sailing On.
Ripon: 6.20 Lady Luzon, 6.55 Elegant Call, 7.25 Star Shield, 7.55 Fortamour (nap), 8.25 Herakles, 9.00 Angel Of The Bay.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in early October, for which City Of Troy is now a clear favourite at around 5-1, is another obvious potential target later in the year, while the Breeders’ Cup Classic, on dirt, at Del Mar in early November, is another tantalising possibility.
Galileo made the final start of his career in the Classic at Belmont Park in New York in 2001, finishing sixth of 11 starters. With his superstar status now restored, O’Brien’s 10th winner of Britain’s premier Classic could yet be the one to succeed where his first Derby winner failed.
