- City of Troy won the Epsom derby with a strong ride, jockeyed by Ryan Moore
- Trainer Aidan O’Brien has won a record-extending 10th Epsom Derby
- City of Troy came through the middle of the pack with a remarkable finish
Aidan O’Brien will wait up to 10 days before determining where he will next unleash his brilliant Epsom hero City Of Troy.
It has been a whirlwind weekend for O’Brien, who flew back to his Ballydoyle base on Saturday night after watching City Of Troy dismantle the Betfred Derby field before jetting out to Paris yesterday for the Prix du Jockey Club.
His quest to do a ‘Derby double’ failed to materialise, as Diego Velazquez — the son of Frankel who cost his Coolmore owners £2.2million — faded in the home straight to finish eighth behind impressive winner Look De Vega.
‘Ryan (Moore, his jockey) just felt being drawn out wide didn’t help at all,’ said O’Brien. ‘He tried to make up ground but he was trapped and it was one of those things. Listen, he’ll leave that run behind.’
But that result didn’t affect O’Brien’s mood and, speaking to Mail Sport, he was still on a high after what he described as an ‘unbelievable’ display from City Of Troy, who became his 10th — and best — winner of the greatest Flat race.
City Of Troy is the kind of horse who will command headlines this summer and have sports fans intrigued as to what races he will contest, particularly as O’Brien has discussed unusual targets in America.
It has long been in O’Brien’s thinking that the Travers Stakes, on dirt at the end of August, would be on City Of Troy’s agenda but the trainer wants to see how he mentally matures over the next few weeks.
The most likely next port of call for the son of Justify, who beat Ambiente Friendly by three emphatic lengths on Saturday, could be the Irish Derby on June 30. That is a race Coolmore always aim to support, but options are open.
‘Everything was fantastic with him when we got home,’ O’Brien said. ‘He wasn’t doing anything strenuous when I left, just having a pick of grass and that was about it. What he did at Epsom was unbelievable.
‘Everything is open to him from here. We know the Irish Derby is there and that could be a possibility but the lads (owners John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith) will decide over the next week to 10 days.’
Ghostwriter, trained by Clive Cox and ridden by Richard Kingscote, fared best of the British and Irish contingent in the French Derby, finishing fourth and confirming the promise he showed in the Qipco 2,000 Guineas when he was also fourth. ‘We would have liked to have won,’ said Cox. ‘He definitely stayed that mile-and-a-quarter trip but the soft ground just stopped that finishing kick that he has shown. But we’re over the moon with him.’
‘Ryan (Moore, his jockey) just felt being drawn out wide didn’t help at all,’ said O’Brien. ‘He tried to make up ground but he was trapped and it was one of those things. Listen, he’ll leave that run behind.’
Those sentiments applied to the connections of Francisco’s Piece, who dashed up Chantilly’s sprint course like a scalded cat for jockey James Doyle.
Adrian Keatley, who trains the two-year-old for a nine-strong syndicate, has targets in mind back at Chantilly and potentially Glorious Goodwood. ‘He’s a very good horse and he’ll massively improve,’ said Keatley.
Amy Murphy’s Itsatenfromlen had a perfect start to his career, winning the Prix d’Orgemont under Tom Marquand.