City of Troy

If the first half of the Flat season is for graduation ceremonies, this is the bit where Masters and PhDs are handed out. To see Ryan Moore sit so beautifully on City Of Troy - and this year's best horse race round Southwell so fluidly - was to feel a surge of anticipation greater than before his seasonal reappearance for the 2,000 Guineas.  We all love spring and the history-laden game of labelling three-year-olds 'Classic' winners. But sorry, late summer and autumn is when we really get ready to rumble....

City Of Troy (Justify), who bested older horses in the G1 International Stakes at York last out, now holds a rating of 130p by Timeform, three pounds clear of his closest rivals pointing to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar in November. The Aidan O'Brien colt, who races for the Coolmore partners, participated in a racecourse gallop at Southwell on Friday. Next on ratings is GI Travers Stakes/GI Florida Derby winner Fierceness (City Of Light) at 127, five pounds better than GI Kentucky Derby third and second Forever...

SOUTHWELL, UK -- It is not often that the eyes of the racing world are on Southwell. The country track had been closed to the public for nine months until early August following extensive flooding, but on Friday it was the place to be as the top-rated horse in Europe, City Of Troy, descended on Nottinghamshire with an entourage akin to a Taylor Swift tour. He even brought his own American starting stalls. And swift is how he looked as he eased clear of the five-strong working party from Ballydoyle,...

'TDN Rising Star' and GI Travers Stakes winner Fierceness (City of Light), owned by Repole Stables, has stayed in the top spot in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings for the fourth consecutive week, in front of fellow 3-year-olds City of Troy (Justify) and Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) after the eighth week of voting. Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, rose to the top ranking following his dramatic Travers Stakes win at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 24. Last year's GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and champion 2-year-old male...

After setting a new course record in the G1 International Stakes, City Of Troy (Justify) is now the second-highest rated horse in the world on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, which were released on Thursday. He improved from 123 to 127 with his victory. The G1 Eclipse Stakes and G1 Derby winner is behind only G1 Dubai World Cup hero Laurel River (Into Mischief), who holds a mark of 128. Second behind City Of Troy at York is G2 King Edward VII Stakes hero Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), who...

Aidan O'Brien has never won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. But it hasn't been from a lack of effort. He's had 13 starters in the race and has run some very good horses, including Galileo (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat). But his luck could very well change this year as he will take aim at the Classic with one of the best horses of this generation. The O'Brien trained City of Troy (Justify) has had an outstanding campaign in Europe, winning six of seven starts, including four...

Legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien joined this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss City of Troy and other Breeders' Cup-bound trainees. Plus, we learn he moonlights as a dog sitter.

Southwell Racecourse will be opening its doors for free to members of the public who wish to watch City Of Troy (Justify) in action on Friday, September 20. The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt will undertake a racecourse gallop prior to heading to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup Classic. American starting stalls and an as yet unconfirmed team of stable-mates will join City Of Troy at the Nottinghamshire track as he is put through his paces. Mark Clayton, executive director at Southwell, has confirmed that racing fans wishing to attend will...

City Of Troy (Justify), a winner of the G1 Derby, G1 Eclipse Stakes, and G1 International Stakes this spring and summer, is still on target for a Sept. 20 Southwell gallop, trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed during the Irish Champions Festival media event at Ballydoyle on Monday. The colt is aiming for a start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2. O'Brien said, "He can go a mile, probably with four or five other horses and we'll go a good, strong pace and see what will...

City Of Troy (Justify) will head to Southwell for a racecourse gallop on September 20 as part of his build-up to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Winner of the Derby and Eclipse, City Of Troy stamped his authority at York last week when making all for victory in the Juddmonte International, smashing Sea The Stars's course-record time in the process. Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore partners have made no secret of their Classic ambitions, with City Of Troy appearing a perfect candidate for the headline event at Del Mar. The Ballydoyle...

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...