City Of Troy follows up Derby win by going deep for battling victory in Eclipse

City Of Troy followed up his impressive success in the Derby with a win that showed a fresh side to his character in the Eclipse Stakes on Saturday, as he dug deep on rain-softened to fight off a spirited challenge from Al Riffa by a length, with Ghostwriter, who finished ahead of City Of Troy in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, another length away in third.

It was not quite the dominant performance that the Sandown crowd might have expected to see from a 1-4 favourite, but Aidan O’Brien, the colt’s trainer, suggested afterwards that it had been a late call to let him take his chance at all the ground.

“It was tough, deep ground,” O’Brien said. “In all fairness to the lads [in the Coolmore Stud ownership syndicate], 15 years ago, they would have taken him out.

“We’re lucky that they enjoy the racing so much now that they wanted to be here and they wanted him to run. He’s a beautiful good ground horse, a real fast-ground mover, so he won this despite the ground.”

O’Brien suggested that the International Stakes at York in August is a potential target for City Of Troy’s next start, while the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar in November remains a long-term aim.