City of Troy confirms his derby status in Coral-Eclipse at Sandown

It rarely happens that a Derby winner follows up in the Coral Eclipse, but Aiden O'Brien's, City of Troy (Ryan Moore 6-4), did that, albeit labouring. For those closest to him, the overriding emotion appeared relief, although there was no escaping that this was a pale imitation of Epsom, a month ago. On that occasion, he floated around Tattenham Corner, free-wheeled down the hill and arrived like a Mustang.. At Sandown, his wheels were skidding haphazardly around the difficult muddy ground, as he is not keen on it.

Nevertheless, he now has five strikes from six starts and, still maybe not Coolmore's answer to Frankel, a brilliant equine indeed. It was a long way home from the wire, when he came off the bridle two furlongs out, and a propensity to drift to his right was hardly helping matters. However, once he found the far rail he was able to sustain his advantage over Al Riffa (Dylan Brown McMonagle 3-1).

"We were very worried about the ground," revealed Aiden. "We walked the track before and it was a lot softer than it was in the Dewhurst or anything else. Soft, tough, deep, and, in all fairness to the lads, 15 years ago they wouldn't have run Troy. So lucky they enjoy their racing so much now and they wanted to be here, but, having walked it, I was very afraid."

Such is City Of Troy's aura, part-owners John and Sue Magnier both made a rare visit to Sandown to see the son of Justify bid to emulate the likes of Mill Reef, Nashwan, Sea The Stars and Golden Horn. Let him rest now until the Juddmonte International, or, America.

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It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of some Ngong Greats - Romolo Severini, Tony Abercrombie-Dick, and, Doctor Joe Wambui who have contributed so much to racing. Such flawless characters are difficult to emulate. Sympathies to all connections. Tony was the last of an era of gentleman amateur riders - an exceptional horseman. He made everyone laugh.