City Of Troy pleases in Leopardstown spin ahead of Classic campaign

Gary Carson
March 24, 2024 4:19 pm

Unbeaten colt was one of a group of high-profile names to work at the track.

Ante-post Classic favourite City Of Troy satisfied trainer Aidan O’Brien in a rescheduled racecourse gallop at Leopardstown on Saturday.

The Ballydoyle handler had outlined plans to work his Classic contenders at Naas on Sunday earlier in the week, but with the ground riding heavy at the County Kildare venue, O’Brien opted to send his team to Leopardstown 24 hours earlier.

City Of Troy is a general 4-6 favourite for the Qipco 2000 Guineas and a 6-4 market leader for the Betfred Derby after an unblemished juvenile campaign that culminated in an impressive victory in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.

The Justify colt was one a strong group to have a racecourse spin, with Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Unquestionable and National Stakes victor Henry Longfellow others to strut their stuff.

City Of Troy was a clear-cut winner of the Dewhurst (Nigel French/PA)

O’Brien said: “They all worked nice, they all went in a bunch – the whole lot of them.

“We were happy with them all. They went seven and a half furlongs in a bunch and came up on the bridle but we were happy with what they did.

“City Of Troy, River Tiber, Unquestionable, Diego Velazquez and Henry Longfellow were all in the one bunch. We were very happy with them.

“We didn’t know whether there was a doubt about the meeting here (in Naas), so we were delighted to get into Leopardstown.”

Henry Longfellow was another to work at Leopardstown (Damien Eagers/PA)

O’Brien has indicated his intention to send City Of Troy to Newmarket on May 4 without a prep run and that remains the plan at present.

He added: “We’ll see how they come out of the work but that’s the plan at the moment.”

International honours are in O’Brien’s sights in the immediate future with last year’s Derby winner Auguste Rodin set to make his seasonal bow in the Dubai Sheema Classic next Saturday.

Auguste Rodin will contest the Sheema Classic in Dubai (Brian Lawless/PA)

The four-year-old also won the Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf last term and he will headline the stable’s squad, with Luxembourg another headline act in the Dubai Turf, where he will be joined by Cairo.

O’Brien said: “They landed there this morning and everything looks good with them so far, they seem to have travelled nicely.

“We have Point Lonsdale in the Turf with Auguste Rodin. Then there is Luxembourg, Cairo and Tower Of London (Dubai Gold Cup) and the two in the Derby (Henry Adams and Navy Seal).”