City Of Troy came home a long way clear of four stablemates in his racecourse gallop at Southwell on Friday.
The son of Justify has won six of his seven starts for Aidan O'Brien, who was keen to give his superstar colt a taste of an artificial surface ahead of a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
While Southwell’s Tapeta track is very different to the dirt he will encounter at Del Mar on 2 November, the Ballydoyle team did their best to ensure City Of Troy otherwise got as close to a raceday experience as possible in Nottinghamshire, flying over a set of American starting stalls.
After being paraded in front of a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd, the three-year-old was walked in front of the stands before cantering to the one-mile start and being loaded into stall three under big-race jockey Ryan Moore, with Congo River (Brett Doyle) in one, Democracy (Wayne Lordan) in two, Master Of The Hunt (Rachel Richardson) in four and Edwardian (Dean Gallagher) in gate five.
Although City Of Troy made much of the running when winning last month’s Juddmonte International at York in a record time, it was notable more waiting tactics were adopted in this thorough workout, with Moore settling him at the rear of the quintet while Congo River set a sound gallop out in front.
As Congo River and Democracy began to falter, City Of Troy moved forward before the home turn before being pushed clear by Moore, powering through the line to finish in splendid isolation.
O'Brien said: "We’ve tried to prepare him for a Classic, we’ve never won it and know how tough it is. When he came along we felt that he was the horse that could make it happen. There’s never any guarantee with anything, but we felt if we looked under every stone that he’d have a good chance.
"The lads slowed up the surface today, which was brilliant, and made it a bit closer to dirt. It was tough and was never going to be over impressive to look at I suppose, but we were very happy and Ryan was very happy.
"There was an even pace and he stretched out well, so hopefully he’ll come out of it and we’ll look forward to the Breeders’ Cup with him now."
He went on: "We’ve had them (American stalls) for a long time now. We were going to America and horses weren’t breaking very well, they were losing two or three lengths at the stalls, which was making it very difficult, so the lads went over and got American stalls and it was brilliant.
"The lads loaded them up perfect and City Of Troy jumped on the bell and was very quick. We knew the other four were going to be forced a bit stronger early because we didn’t want him to be in front, but at the same time Ryan said he was going to go forward because when he goes to America he’ll go forward.
"It all worked out perfect, we think. The trip, the day away, but I think the big thing was the track and the surface – it’s fast and left-handed and flat and the surface was more demanding than anything we could get other than grass.
"We’ve ticked all the boxes we think we should have ticked, that doesn’t mean you’ll get success, but at least if you fail that way you’ve failed doing your best, so we’ll try."
Chief executive and clerk of the course at the Knavesmire, William Derby, was among the crowd of over 700 who made the trip to watch City Of Troy go through his paces .
At heart, Derby is a racing fan, but it is also in his interests to see City Of Troy win at Del Mar given the Justify colt took the Juddmonte International earlier this year.
"I’m here for personal and professional reasons and I’m really pleased to be here, I can’t believe how many people are here," he said.
"We were thrilled with the way he won the Juddmonte and now he’s the highest-rated turf horse in the world so it’s fantastic.
"It’s incredible the detail that has gone into today, but it’s all part of rehearsing ahead of the Classic. It will be amazing if he can win it after dominating on turf, it would be a real game changer."
While many of the crowd were locals taking advantage of free tickets and the chance to see one of the best horses in the world, some had come to Nottinghamshire from much further afield.
"City Of Troy is a very famous horse in Japan as he won the Derby"
Marie Mishima, who works for Tokyo TV, travelled to Southwell to coincide with a journey to Joseph O’Brien’s yard and a visit to see the now Japanese-owned Al Riffa ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
However, with Japan also having a real live chance in the Classic through Kentucky Derby third Forever Young, there is real interest at home in City Of Troy.
"I came in from Tokyo yesterday as I’m doing some work ahead of the Arc de Triomphe," she said.
"The Arc is the race everyone in Japan wants to win, but because of Forever Young this year and Derma Sotogake last year (second to White Abarrio) the Breeders’ Cup Classic is now a race we want to win also.
"City Of Troy is a very famous horse in Japan as he won the Derby."
Although none of the Coolmore 'lads’ were present, Paul Smith, son of Derrick Smith, was there to witness events.
He said: "Southwell have done a great job putting this on, it’s a pleasure to be here and there is a great turnout.
"I think people have embraced Aidan being here and it’s something they can all latch onto and get an insight into what he does.
"Since Newmarket (disappointment in the 2000 Guineas) it has been pretty smooth sailing, he conquered all and we are looking forward to the next challenge. I kept the belief even after Newmarket, we could see what he was doing at home.
"It’s really exciting, it will be a tough nut to crack, but he’s by Justify so he’s got an excellent chance and we’re going to give it a go."
