City of Troy

A tilt at the Qipco Champion Stakes is on the agenda for Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) after his valiant second to a "true champion" City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International at York. Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, Calandagan proved he belonged at the highest level in chasing home City Of Troy, and now connections are eyeing up a return to Ascot where he has already tasted victory in the King Edward VII Stakes. "He came out of the race really well, I am very pleased to see how he took...

There are seven basic plots in fiction - and around the same number in sport. One is the removal of doubt. In language that no actual person ever used, Fleet Street newspapers used to love a win that "silenced the knockers." Racing is not short of those narratives but is unique in attaching them to animals who can't give press conferences, offer excuses, or just say they had an off day. Hence the debate is free to rage around whether a horse such as City Of Troy is as good...

With his win in the G3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes this past Wednesday, The Lion In Winter (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) has broken the fillies' stranglehold on the Timeform 2-year-old rankings, having taken up the mantel as the second-highest juvenile this season. The effort at York earned a 115p, which puts him behind stablemate Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) at 116p but ahead of Babouche (GB) (Kodiac {GB}) with a 113p and Fairy Godmother (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) at 112p. The new rating is the highest by a juvenile...

The GI Breeders' Cup Classic has been confirmed as the next port of call for City Of Troy following his dominant win in Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International at York. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said, "It looks like City Of Troy is going to go straight to the Classic, I think, listening to everybody. I think he's going to go to one of your tracks [for a racecourse gallop], either Southwell or Ryan [Moore, jockey] mentioned Wolverhampton. "We just want to get him on a different surface, so that's where he could...

YORK, UK -- Those rather dangerous words issued last October after the Dewhurst don't seem quite so bold now. "He's our Frankel," said City Of Troy's part-owner Michael Tabor back then. It may still seem like sacrilege, especially on a day when Juddmonte sponsors the big race, to compare any other Thoroughbred to Frankel, but at York there has truly been no anticipation so intense, no reception so rapturous, since Henry Cecil's wonder horse took the Knavesmire by storm in the Juddmonte International Stakes 12 years ago.  Twelve years gone...

Brilliant horses like City Of Troy (Justify--Together Forever {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) are always on the line when it comes to reputation and aura and there was no disguising the fact that Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International represented his moment of truth regardless of prior achievements. Despite coming to York as a clear-cut 2-year-old champion, an impressive Derby winner and the current holder of an Eclipse, there was a tension in the atmosphere on the storied Knavesmire expanse that was accompanied by threatening and brooding clouds and a strange autumnal air....

   York's G1 Juddmonte International was designed to bring the very best to the famous Knavesmire venue and it has achieved that on Wednesday with City Of Troy (Justify) ready to rock and roll over the flat, fair mile-and-a-quarter. Due to a variety of factors beyond his control, Michael Tabor's 'Frankel' has probably yet to show his true material, with slow ground on Future Champions Day and in the Eclipse blunting his speed and heavy traffic on the contours at Epsom curtailing his impressive stride. There is a feeling that...

Coolmore's G1 Derby and G1 Eclipse hero City Of Troy (Justify) is set to face one dozen rivals from stall five in Wednesday's G1 Juddmonte International after 13 were declared for the £1.25-million feature on the opening day of York's Ebor Festival. Trainer Aidan O'Brien will also be represented by Hans Andersen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) after trimming weekend winner Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and G1 Irish Derby victor Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) from his overnight team of four. The home defence is headed by G1 Derby runner-up and...

Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), who won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, has received a mark of 125, good for second in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Leading the list is G1 Dubai World Cup hero Laurel River (Into Mischief) at 128, while G1 Derby and G1 Eclipse Stakes victor City Of Troy (Justify) and UAE and Hong Kong Group 1 winner Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) are both tied for third on a mark of 123. In a five-way tie for fifth, Group 1 winner...

A total of 227 entries have been received for the five Group contests scheduled to take place on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot, it was announced on Tuesday. This is the largest number since 2018 and includes a record 56-strong entry for the G1 QIPCO Champion Stakes, the feature race on the card slated for Saturday, October 19. The 56 horses entered for the Champion Stakes have won 37 Group 1 races between them, with Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) boasting the most decorated CV as a six-time...

The lack of top-class talent in this season's sprint division was laid bare by Timeform on Tuesday as the organisation revealed that the class of 2024 currently rank well below the 10 highest-rated sprinters to have raced in Europe since 2015. Australian-trained sprinter Asfoora (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) achieved a rating of 122 when winning the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, a figure that was matched this month by Mill Stream (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) when he gained his first Group 1 success in the July Cup at Newmarket,...

The Coolmore partners' City Of Troy (Justify) will likely face a truly international field in the £1.2-million G1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Aug. 21. Durezza (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), a Japanese Classic winner, will travel to the Knavesmire to tangle with the Ballydoyle G1 Derby hero next month, York's CEO William Derby confirmed on Wednesday. "We're obviously delighted to hear the news from Ballydoyle that City Of Troy is likely to run in the Juddmonte International--obviously there's a long way to go with horses, but to have Europe's highest-rated...