City Of Troy© Photo Healy Racing
The Juddmonte International at York on Wednesday oozes star quality and it is time for City Of Troy to do the talking once again.
Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore partners are very much on record with their views on the son of Triple Crown hero Justify, with O’Brien labelling him the best he has ever trained and Michael Tabor saying after last year’s Dewhurst “he’s our Frankel”.
He overcame a lacklustre run in the 2000 Guineas — for which O’Brien took full responsibility — to take the Derby in style and get his career firmly back on track, although in winning the Eclipse he was more workmanlike.
O’Brien blamed the soft ground at Sandown for what was visually a less than explosive display, but there should be no worries on that score this week and for a horse with a long stride, York’s four-furlong home straight should be ideal.
But with the best three-year-olds and older horses in opposition from all over Europe, as well as a top-class filly in Bluestocking and a winner of the Japanese St Leger winner, there will be no hiding place in what is the biggest field assembled since the inception of the race in 1972.
“We’ve been happy with him since the last day and obviously this was the race we had planned out for him and everything has gone well,” said O’Brien.
“The weather looks like it means the ground should be better than Sandown, and York has nice, long home straight that we hope will suit him given his stride.
“We always say we want to see the best horses in the best races.
“He’s just been unique all the way along. What he has been doing has just been on raw ability.
“We thought he was still green in the Derby and then we went to Sandown and we were happy there was plenty of time between Sandown and York to tweak a few things.”
Second to City Of Troy in the Derby was James Fanshawe’s Ambiente Friendly.
He then went on to the Irish Derby when he travelled like the winner for much of the contest but was seemingly outstayed by Los Angeles, who runs in the Great Voltigeur this week as a prep for the St Leger.
Most onlookers are of the opinion that Ambiente Friendly will be better off down at 10 furlongs and that is certainly the view of his jockey, Robert Havlin.
“If you stopped both Derbys at the two-furlong marker he’s probably the only one still on the bridle, so you would have to think that dropping back in trip will help,” he said, as he assessed his chance in what is another leg of the Qipco British Champions Series.
“It looks like being the race of the season, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’d like to hope that he can reverse form (with City Of Troy). At the two-pole at Epsom I think most people would have been thinking he was the winner, and he’s mentally growing up all of the time.
“He’s the type of horse who you don’t have to squeeze off the bridle to get him to move up through the gears. He’s a really strong traveller with a very high cruising speed, and he goes up through the gears on the bridle.
“I think the slick track and strong pace at York will play to his strengths, and a big field is no problem, as he’s not lazy. If a gap appears he’s one that can instantaneously fill it, because he travels so well.”
