- City of Troy will take an unexpected detour before Breeders Cup Classic
- The horse will ride behind closed doors at either Southwell or Wolverhampton
The road that will potentially lead City Of Troy to racing immortality on America’s West Coast will now take an unexpected detour to Middle England.
Aidan O’Brien was back doing what he does best on the Knavesmire on Thursday, when Content dug in for jockey Ryan Moore win the Yorkshire Oaks and create her own little piece of history, but his mind was already drifting to what might be next for the flying machine that has lit up this summer.
It had been anticipated that City Of Troy, so sensational in winning the Juddmonte International on Wednesday, would have a crack at the Irish Champion Stakes on September 14 before his date with destiny in the Breeders Cup Classic on November 2.
But things change and after discussions between his owners, the Coolmore triumvirate of Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and John Magnier, it has been decided that he will be kept fresh to run for his life in Del Mar, the course outside San Diego. He is 3/1 favourite for the $6million event.
‘That price is ridiculous,’ said Tabor.
City of Troy will take an unexpected detour before participating in the Breeders Cup Classic
Aidan O’Brien revealed City of Troy will ride behind closed doors at Southwell or Wolverhampton
Some practice, however, will be needed beforehand and that means City Of Troy will gallop with stablemates behind-closed-doors at either Southwell or Wolverhampton, two all-weather tracks usually frequented by a significantly lower class kind of horse.
‘It looks like he’s going to go straight to The Classic, listening to what the lads are saying,’ O’Brien confirmed. ‘I think he’s going to come to one of your tracks, too (rather than Dundalk). Either Southwell or Ryan mentioned Wolverhampton. We just want to get him on a different surface.’
When City Of Troy goes to America, he will be joined a clutch of stablemates and one of which is likely to be Content, who turned the tables on You Got To Me after their collision in last month’s Irish Oaks; Emily Upjohn was third.
‘She is still running in a gear too high,’ said O’Brien, always looking for areas he can tweak. ‘When she gets a proper pace and runs in her comfort zone, it will be amazing to see what she can do. Ryan gave her an incredible ride because she’s not straightforward or easy.’
What set her apart was attitude. Content became the 100th individual Group One winner to be sired by Galileo, O’Brien’s first winner of the Epsom Derby in 2001. His importance to the trainer’s career – and how his genes at stud have shaped the modern thoroughbred breed – is hard to state.
City Of Troy was sensational in winning the Juddmonte International on Wednesday
‘Do you remember a horse called Life Of A Lord? That’s where I was,’ said O’Brien.
For context, Life Of The Lord won the old Whitbred Gold Cup in 1996 when O’Brien was a rookie trainer and his inference was without Galileo, he would still be training cumbersome handicap steeplechasers not Group One flying machines on the flat.
‘It’s incredible,’ said O’Brien. ‘He was the first son of Sadler’s Wells to win a Derby and it all happened from there. We’ve just been so very lucky with it all.’
