Aidan O’Brien’s exciting two-year-old star City Of Troy is on course to try and give the champion trainer a record-equalling eighth success in Saturday’s Native Trails Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.
A spectacular winner of both his starts to date, including the Superlative Stakes three months ago, City of Troy is already favourite for both next year’s Guineas and Derby.
City Of Troy is a general 4-7 market leader for the Dewhurst, traditionally England’s most prestigious juvenile contest of the year.
O’Brien has won it seven times, beginning with Rock Of Gibraltar in 2001. His last success was with St Mark’s Basilica in 2020.
Irish racing going all ‘béal bocht’ about prizemoney a hard sell ... and even harder listen
Irish horse Alphonse Le Grande reinstated as Newmarket Cesarewitch winner a month later
Ex-trainer says Horse Racing Ireland response to plan for retired racehorses is ‘discouraging’
Consolidation of Irish racing’s charity sector urged by injured jockeys’ body
One more will see him equal the record of both the 19th century trainer John Porter and Frank Butters, who landed the Dewhurst eight times between 1927 and 1946.
O’Brien has been regularly rewriting the record books this year, including becoming Royal Ascot’s most successful ever trainer in June.
He reached 100 European Classics with Auguste Rodin’s Irish Derby success in July, while he notched up 4,000 career winners when Henry Longfellow landed the National Stakes at last month’s Irish Champions Festival.
On Sunday, O’Brien said Henry Longfellow is probably finished for the year but City Of Troy, who missed the National due to soft ground conditions, will make his eagerly anticipated return to action at the weekend.
“That’s the plan, absolutely, that’s always been his target. When he didn’t run in the National Stakes that is where we said he was going.
“He’s done well and he’s heavier and bigger now than he was [during the summer]. He’s maturing all the time. Everyone is very happy with him so far,” O’Brien reported.
Prior to that there will be Group One action at Newmarket on Friday where the brilliant Prix Marcel Boussac winner Opera Singer is one of a trio of Ballydoyle fillies among nine entries left in the Bet365 Mile.
O’Brien has indicated the daughter of Justify might instead be held in reserve for next month’s Breeders’ Cup in Santa Anita. Ylang Ylang and Brilliant are his other options.
Noel Meade hasn’t ruled out his Park Stakes winner Caught U Looking from the contest.
“If the race cut up we might go. She will either go there or we’ll wait till next year,” Meade said. “I’m hoping the way she’s bred by Harzand that she’ll be a better filly next year.”
The countdown to British flat racing’s season climax at Ascot in a fortnight is already under way where the prolific Group One winner Paddington is set to lead a powerful Ballydoyle team into Champions Day.
Paddington is likely to clash with Dermot Weld’s top-flight filly Tahiyra in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile.
“Paddington looks like he’s going to go to the mile [QEII], Luxembourg could go to the Champion Stakes, the filly that got beat in France [Jackie Oh] could go to the fillies’ race [Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes] and Kyprios could go to the two-mile. That would be the guts of it at the moment,” said O’Brien.
