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Monday 25th November 2024
   

Derby Winner City of Troy Receives Prestigious Horse of the Year Award

City of Troy, who has won seven of nine career races, has been bestowed the honour of Horse of the Year at the Cartier Racing Awards. The American-bred colt, the son of Justify, was the highest-rated two-year-old in Europe in 2023 and has gone from strength to strength.

He started the year with a poor run at the 2000 Guineas, where he faded and finished ninth, but also won the Epsom Derby, the Coral Eclipse and the Juddmonte International in his three-year-old season. Horse racing fans who want to back City of Troy to perform well at any of its forthcoming events can help maximise their potential payout by making good use of the best horse racing betting sites to cement a highly profitable successful wager.

Earlier this year, his victory at the Derby had trainer Aiden O’Brien gushing, the 54-year-old stating of the winning horse when asked whether it was the best he had trained,

"No doubt! Because he has the cruise, he has the balance, he quickens and he stays. I don't think there's any doubt about that."

That victory was perhaps all the sweeter due to the poor showing at the 2000 Guineas,

"Ryan gave him an incredible ride, and I'm so grateful to everyone for the work they have done,"

"We knew the Guineas was totally wrong and I made mistakes training him, that's the bottom line.”

"There were stones I didn't look under. He was too fresh, he was unprepared, he blew up, that's the reality. But we learned from it and knew the ability he had - and since then everything has been beautiful."

City of Troy is only the third-ever Derby Winner to receive the Horse of the Year award, which will make up for the disappointment of his performance in Del Mar, where he could only manage an eighth-placed finish in the American race.

On that occasion, both jockey Ryan Moore and O’Brien accepted responsibility for a poor showing,

"I think he was very brave to keep going."

"He's coming to Del Mar in a Classic and the previous two Classics only had eight or nine runners, today there were 14." Moore stated before O’Brien took his share of the blame,

"I should have had him coming out quicker. It just left Ryan with no chance really when he lost it at the start in that type of race.”

"But for me I just need to step it up a little bit don't I and have them a little bit better prepared."

Among the other winners at the Cartier Horse of the Year awards were Kyprios, who was named the leading stayer, with Bradsell picking up the Sprinter award. This is the 34th running of the event, which began in 1991. The main award was picked up by Ace Impact, whose grandsire Frankel had won the award in both 2011 and 2012.

Gold-cup winner Jessica Harrington earned the award of merit; the Irish trainer has recently recovered after being treated for breast cancer. 

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