Native Trail's Dewhurst Stakes
Group 1, Newmarket 14:00
£500,000 guaranteed,
2yo only,
7f, Class 1   
Saturday 14th October 2023

BetGoodwin

1 City Of Troy 8/15F
2 Alyanaabi 6/1
3 Eben Shaddad 25/1
8 ran Distances: 3½l, 1l, 1½l
Time: 1m 24.85s (slow by 1.95s)

Aidan O'Brien celebrated City Of Troy as the most exceptional two-year-old he has ever trained, following a stunning performance.

In the lead-up to the race, O'Brien had expressed some reservations about the soft ground, but the decision to let him race proved to be the right one.

Under the guidance of jockey Ryan Moore, the undefeated colt set the early pace as the 8-15 favorite. The victory appeared all but certain as he powered ahead of his seven competitors, crossing the finish line with a commanding lead of three and a half lengths.

The son of Justify had only completed his third career start, previously winning a Curragh maiden in July and later triumphing by an impressive margin of six and a half lengths in the Superlative Stakes that same month.

Unfavorable conditions had thwarted their plans for a National Stakes run the previous month, but City Of Troy's remarkable performance on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket more than made up for it. Now, he heads into the winter as the favorite for next year's Classics.

QuinnBet offered even odds for his chances in the 2000 Guineas and considers him the leader with 5-2 odds for the Derby. Paddy Power, slightly more generous, offers 5-4 odds for the Newmarket Classic and considers him the 9-4 favorite for Epsom. Additionally, Paddy Power provides 10-1 odds for his potential achievement of the Triple Crown by also clinching victory in the St Leger.

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O’Brien said: “Did you see the movement on him? He’d absolutely hate that ground, he hasn’t got tractor tyres but what he has is a jet engine and the engine just powers his action through.

“He’s an incredible horse really and thank God we ran him. I said to everyone he could get beat, he was entitled to get beat on this ground, but he just never gets tired the horse – I’ve never seen a horse who doesn’t get tired.

“It’s obviously part of his make-up somewhere. We’ve never had a horse like him, that’s the way it is.

“We’ve never had a horse where we don’t know where the limit is. We usually push them to the limit, but we never could find his limit. We’ve never, ever had a horse before like that.

“He is the best two-year-old we’ve trained, there’s no doubt. He’s by Justify and it’s a Justify trait – they just keep going.”

Moore was equally as impressed, admitting he felt only the ground or lengthy absence could beat his mount.

He said: “He’s a very, very good horse who really impressed me on both of his previous runs and today he’s put up a performance like that off the back of a long lay-off in conditions he didn’t like.

“The first day I rode him he did something a horse has never done to me before – I couldn’t stop him, which has never happened. We went steady and he only got racing in the last 150 yards on fast ground

“When he ran here on the July Course, I thought that was as impressive a two-year-old performance as I’d ridden – at that time of year I’d never ridden a two-year-old who could do that.

“Coming into today, I couldn’t see how anything the race could beat him, the worry was the holding ground after that rain we had last night, and he’d been off since the July meeting.

“I thought his performance was very commanding again and he’s a special horse. His action is different and he wants a nice surface.

“He’s a very rare horse. For me, Frankel is the best racehorse I ever saw and I stupidly said after this horse won the July Course I hadn’t seen a two-year-old do that since him, but that was a silly comparison to make – this horse has a long way to go yet and he’s going to have to carry on doing what he’s done so far.”

Alyanaabi took second spot for owners Shadwell and racing manager Angus Gold was another to praise City Of Troy.

Gold said: “I was incredibly impressed by the winner. He looked an absolutely gorgeous horse with a lovely attitude beforehand and I couldn’t believe how well he moved on the ground.

“Jim (Crowley, jockey) said he could see the winner and he looked like he was struggling on the ground and he thought he had a chance, and then he just went away again.

“We’re delighted with our horse, he ran a fantastic race. Jim just said he couldn’t quicken like he did last time on faster ground, but then the winner was in the same boat.

“We’ll put him away and try to have another go in the Guineas, all being well. I can’t see any reason why not.”

SureWIn

Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1)
£500,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 7f, Class 1
8 ran
Going: Soft

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (2)     City Of Troy 2 9-3 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 8/15F
2 (4) 3½ Alyanaabi 2 9-3 Owen Burrows Jim Crowley 6/1
3 (1) 1 Eben Shaddad 2 9-3 John & Thady Gosden Benoit De La Sayette 25/1
4 (5) 1½ Henry Adams 2 9-3 A P O'Brien Frankie Dettori 18/1
5 (8) 2½ Haatem 2 9-3 Richard Hannon Sean Levey 40/1
6 (6) ½ Iberian 2 9-3 Charles Hills Tom Marquand 5/1
7 (7) 3¼ Array 2 9-3 Andrew Balding James Doyle 28/1
8 (3) ½ Indian Run 2 9-3 Eve Johnson Houghton Daniel Tudhope 33/1

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