City Of Troy’s Betfred Derby success at Epsom on Saturday not only rejuvenated hopes he might be the best horse ever through Aidan O’Brien’s hands but left an awful lot of hurlers on the ditch scrambling for solace.
As is the nature of such things, hindsight will deliver a retrospective logic to City Of Troy’s victory in the 245th “Blue Riband”. The old line about forgiving any horse one bad run will get trotted out. So will the bit about form being temporary and class permanent. All of it simply underlines the scale of O’Brien’s accomplishment.
Because even though the colt once acclaimed as “our Frankel” by his Coolmore ownership started a 3/1 favourite, it wasn’t just hurlers who had dismissed his chance of emulating Auguste Rodin a year previously by turning a Guineas flop into Derby glory.
O’Brien ran three in the race and listening to some objective professional opinion conjured a sense that not only was Los Angeles the best of them, but that Ryan Moore might even be on the outsider of the Ballydoyle trio, whatever the odds said.
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So beware retro-wise after-timers claiming they knew all along; never has a classic favourite confounded so much scepticism, and never have so many had to acknowledge that the most successful Derby trainer of all time might know what he is talking about.
The career that has taken O’Brien to 10 Derby victories – one more than the legendary jockey Lester Piggott – has made him a very rich man. But the way the 54-year-old Irishman doubled down on City Of Troy after that Guineas flop four weeks previously meant he invested an awful lot of credibility in the colt retrieving his reputation at Epsom.
To many the excuses from Newmarket about upset heartrates and the rest of it sounded hollow, little more than sales patter designed to salvage commercial value in a stallion prospect hyped too much too soon.
O’Brien cuts far too low key a figure to indulge in public “I told you so”. But his noticeable post-race relief smacked of colossal vindication. Whoever you were pinning faith in City Of Troy’s Derby chance basically boiled down to faith in O’Brien and it paid off in spades.
“Aidan said this is the best we’ve ever had, and everything has come true,” said Michael Tabor, one of the Coolmore ownership who had originally pinned the “our Frankel” tag on to City Of Troy after his superb two-year-old career.
That abject Guineas display seems even more of an aberration now although it makes any ambition towards an unbeaten career redundant. History shows how such pristine records are overrated anyway, no barrier to entry into racing’s pantheon.
A three-length defeat of Ambiente Friendly hardly in itself justifies such lofty speculation. There is also the reality that Coolmore’s commercial instincts mean their latest blue-blooded prodigy is very often incomparable.
But O’Brien’s “no doubt” when asked if City Of Troy is the best of his Derby 10 means the expectation bandwagon is firmly back on track. And in the circumstances it’s not like O’Brien can be accused of after-timing. There is also a breadth of ambition that’s new.
Saratoga’s Travers Stakes on August 24th, and a clash with America’s best on dirt, is once again firmly back on the colt’s radar. He is already a 2/1 favourite for that with some firms, clear of stars such as last month’s Kentucky Derby hero Mystik Dan.
The Breeders Cup Classic at Del Mar in November, long the ultimate cross-code goal for Coolmore, is another long-term consideration. In comparison odds of as low as 3-1 for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe are almost predictable.
Paris in October could provoke a fascinating clash with Friday’s Oaks heroine Ezeliya, with Dermot Weld suggesting the possibility of skipping next month’s Curragh Oaks in favour of an Arc preparation.
“We’ll have a discussion and decide whether she goes for the Irish Oaks or whether we give her a little bit more time and leave her off for the month of June and bring her back for an autumn campaign.
“Maybe a race like the Prix Vermeille, which has been good for us in the past, and if she progresses like I think she can, maybe have a crack at the Arc with her. But that is all to be decided,” said Weld.
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