City Of Troy faces a date with destiny in early November as he bids to provide top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien with his first-ever victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Having recorded three impressive victories as a juvenile, online bookmakers installed the son of Justify as the odds-on favourite to win the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
However, City Of Troy trailed home ninth out of 11 runners to leave the racing world pondering whether he was yet another over-hyped horse from the O’Brien stable.
He has subsequently silenced the doubters in three subsequent outings, winning the Epsom Derby, Coral-Eclipse Stakes and Juddmonte International Stakes.
City Of Troy will now attempt to cement his legacy as an all-time great by claiming victory in the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on November 2.
The sportsbook attached to the Betpanda bitcoin casino platform rates the horse as a 5/2 shot to emerge victorious and it would be a brave move to back against him.
Success in the Classic would undoubtedly have much wider implications in the racing industry, particularly with regards to comparisons with the legendary Frankel.
Co-owner Michael Tabor described the horse as ‘our Frankel’ following his victory in last season’s Dewhurst Stakes – a comment which immediately ramped up expectations.
Comparing horses from different eras is generally an exercise in futility, but the temptation to measure City Of Troy against Frankel is difficult to resist.
Timeform puts Frankel streets ahead, with his rating of 143 at the end of his three-year-old campaign a long way in front of City Of Troy’s current 130p mark.
While a victory in the Classic would change the landscape, the manner of the performance will play a significant role in determining how much the ratings gap is adjusted.
Some racing aficionados argue that Frankel’s legendary status is overblown given that he was never tested outside England’s borders in 14 career starts.
Timeform has previously argued that it doesn’t matter that Frankel never raced abroad or at a mile and a half or on any surface other than turf.
However, that insular view is unquestionably flawed given that Frankel spent a significant proportion of his career running against the same group of opponents.
While England’s reputation for excellence in horse racing cannot be disputed, you have to be extremely blinkered not to recognise the quality in other jurisdictions.
The status of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships should not be underestimated, with the meeting bringing together the ‘best of the best’ in different categories.
O’Brien is fully aware of the Classic’s reputation having made 15 previous attempts to win the race without success. He is desperate for City Of Troy to make it 16th time lucky.
His Giant’s Causeway came agonisingly close to winning the race in 2000, while Henrythenavigator was another near miss for the stable eight years later.
O’Brien has stressed that he considers City Of Troy to be ‘different’ from his other Classic runners – a belief driven by the horse’s dirt pedigree.
If the horse breaks O’Brien’s duck in the Classic, it would be impossible to ignore his claims to be considered as a genuine racing superstar.
For all his amazing feats on the racecourse, Frankel was never campaigned abroad which places a question mark on his impressive career achievements.
Timeform believes Frankel’s victory in the 2012 Queen Anne Stakes, where he earned a rating of 147, makes him the best flat horse of all-time.
If City of Troy wins the Classic, they will be forced to seriously reconsider their stance.