Country trumps City in the Classic
The answer is no and no. City Of Troy did not break well and did not handle the dirt. For Mrs John Magnier, Michael B Tabor, Et Al, the answer was yes, Chad Brown’s Sierra Leone staying on from off the pace to overhaul Fierceness and land the 41st running of the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.
We’ve seen the pink Magnier second silks win big races before, but a Breeders’ Cup Classic is new territory. The owners, at least, have achieved an ambition that has stretched back a quarter of a century.
Sierra Leone, who had been developing a bit of a reputation as a running-on monkey, ripped that particular mammal off his back in style.
Four consecutive defeats, the last two behind Fierceness, did not make him an obvious pick for this $7,000,000 horse race. But they went hard, a notable gap opening up to a quartet of horses, including City Of Troy, early, and that suited this son of a Gun Runner.
Coming round the home turn Fierceness picked up the baton in the lead going well, but in behind those pink Magnier silks were cruising along on Frenchman Flavien Prat, a jockey who rode the greatest ever winner of this race, Flightline, at Keeneland two years ago.
That horse was a push-button ride, but Sierra Leone has his complexities. It’s unusual to see an American dirt horse so exaggeratedly held up so often over the Classic distance, but everything came together for him on the big day.
This was no Flightline, but he picked off Fierceness quickly at the top of the stretch and from then on the result was never in doubt, even if Todd Pletcher’s horse tried his heart out as he battled in vain to get back into things deep in the contest.
At the wire, Sierra Leone had one and a half lengths in hand.
“Awesome,” said Brown. “It’s been a challenging Breeders’ Cup so far. A couple horses didn’t fire. A couple trips didn’t go our way. I’ve such an unbelievable team and had a lot of confidence in this horse. It sure looked like on paper that the race could set up for him.
“I am so proud and happy for the horse. He’s come up short a few times and had some excuses. He’s been so consistent and is such an honest horse. One of the best I’ve ever had.”
All over very quickly for Troy
For Aidan O’Brien, the Classic quest goes on. His Classic record now stands at zero from 18. In truth, this latest attempt was over after 100 yards. “City Of Troy is out the back,” are not the seven words O’Brien will have wanted Larry Collmus to be calling so early in the race.
Ryan Moore, who had been unshipped by the scratched Believing in the stalls ahead of the Turf Sprint earlier in the day, looked as uncomfortable on Troy after a quarter mile as he did gingerly walking round the in-field after his tumble.
Never going at any stage, detached from the main group by the first turn, the race was over when City Of Troy ran on a bit for eighth in the home stretch.
O’Brien said: “He lost it at the start and obviously I didn’t have him prepared to come out quick enough. We thought we did but we didn’t. He missed it and left Ryan with no chance really, the race was over at the start.
“He’s been an incredible horse and it’s so sporting of the lads to let us have a go at this race. It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to have him and we’ll look forward to having his foals.
“It’s great the lads love the sport so much that they aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and put him in somewhere they haven’t been before.”
Troy, an ancient city that would’ve been in present-day Turkey, was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. O’Brien managed one rebuilding job with the equine version after a poor showing in the 2000 Guineas, reeling off wins in the Derby, Eclipse and Juddmonte International, but there will be no second reconstruction.
Off he goes to stud and it’s a shame we won’t see him at four, especially now. After such an anti-climax his reputation has taken a knock and his trainer’s conviction that he’s the best horse he has ever trained hasn’t been proven out on the track.
What now for O’Brien and the Breeders’ Cup Classic? Will the quest for this race continue after more heartache, especially after the owners have managed to get one over the line with a pure dirt horse trained at an American barn?
If he does come back maybe he will have to do things differently again. O’Brien mentioned the woeful start. Is the lack of a prep race on American dirt before the Classic a stone he hasn’t looked under? Can you really aim one at the 2000 Guineas and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the same year?
O’Brien, ever the innovator, will go over all these things 1000 times. He won’t give up trying. But City Of Troy’s performance underlines the difficulties of translating turf form to dirt and tackling the surface for the first time in the Classic looks a flawed strategy.
As ever, the European horses thrived in the turf races. Ralph Beckett continued his unbelievable 2024 by landing the Turf Sprint with Starlust a month on from winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Charlie Appleby’s Rebel’s Romance regained his title in a weak renewal of the Turf when holding on from the fast-finishing Rousham Park, although there was no joy for stablemate Notable Speech as More Than Looks swooped for a home win in the Mile.
For O’Brien it’s back to the drawing board. City Of Troy has been the poster boy for the British and Irish Flat season, seemingly carrying the sport on his shoulders at times. Alas, he couldn’t conquer the Del Mar dirt, the journey more enjoyable than his final failed shot at glory.
