City Of Troy bidding to give master trainer Aidan O'Brien his first victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Racing; Derby winner warmed up for his first run on dirt with a trial run around Southwell last month
Friday 25 October 2024 14:43, UK
What makes City Of Troy so special? Aidan O’Brien has trained some of the most talented horses to have ever graced the track, yet the master trainer has repeatedly called this year’s Derby star his best ever.
Ahead of his date with destiny on November 2, when City Of Troy will bid to end O'Brien's long wait for a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, live on Sky Sports Racing, our cameras headed down to Ballydoyle for a morning with the superstar.
"He will do his own thing, he won't go with the crowd," O'Brien explains. "He's a very independent thinker and will make his own mind up about things. That's the way he's always been.
"If he was in the wild, he'd be an alpha male. He's a natural born leader."
That maturity, O'Brien hopes, should be a big help when City Of Troy flies across to California this weekend and settles in at Del Mar for his biggest test to date.
Rachel Richardson, City Of Troy's lucky work rider, perhaps knows the equine hero the best.
She says of his personality: "He's special. To get up in the morning and ride a horse like him out, I'm really blessed.
"He's a pleasure to work with, a real kind horse. When it comes to his work, there's plenty of aggression there but day-to-day in the stable he's very kind.
"He wants to gallop and he'd run through a brick wall for you."
The team certainly feel they have horse as ready as they can for the unique challenge of running on the American dirt surface.
A trial run at Southwell, for which around 1,000 members of the public showed up to show their appreciation, went smoothly last month.
"Every stone we can look under, we have," O'Brien says. "Every day is a learning curve but we think we've covered every angle we can and we've slowly built him up.
"We don't have the dirt here but all the other stuff, we've prepared for.
"We never expect anything in any race, we'll just do our best. We always think the most important thing is ability and we think he's exceptional in that department."
Richardson adds: "He's getting stronger by the day and maturing mentally. He seems to take everything in his stride.
"Fingers crossed he takes to it. I think he has a high chance."
