IT felt as though much of ITV’s coverage on a most enjoyable day one of York’s Ebor Festival centred around whether City Of Troy could do something to elevate himself to true legendary status.

Given we were returning to the scene of where genuine greatness was previously in abundance with modern giants Frankel and Sea The Stars, it was an understandable narrative to give a little oxygen to ahead of one of the world’s marquee Group 1s.

What sort of performance would City Of Troy need to deliver to enter the ‘true great debate’? Does a Guineas blowout limit his chance of legendary status? Can he really be considered the best Aidan O’Brien has ever trained? Those types of questions were swirling around in the air, and not just on ITV.

A product of that tone was a heightened level of expectation for what we were to anticipate from last year’s champion two-year-old. In fact, it probably inadvertently set the bar a little unfairly high in terms of how we were to judge City Of Troy’s Juddmonte showing in the shadow of those true modern greats. Then again, Michael Tabor had already upped the ante when describing him as “our Frankel” in the aftermath of last year’s Dewhurst demolition job. Battle lines drawn.

In the end, it was a clinical display from a genuinely outstanding colt. A most beautiful striding three-year-old who exudes class when getting into full flow like he did here, he smashed Sea The Stars’ Juddmonte course record on a day of fast times. In seeing off one of the most impressive winners of Royal Ascot 2024 in the shape of Calandagan, he certainly did his part to keep the greatness conversation ignited, though it must be said that there is still a way to go on that front.

Elite company

When you are speaking about horses graduating to legendary status, like Frankel and Sea The Stars, that is the most rarified air possible in the sport. Even if City Of Troy had blown away his rivals by a wider margin than the length he won by at York on Wednesday, it’s difficult to say he would automatically be worthy of a spot in the current two-way conversation of modern giants.

That is not a knock on City Of Troy, but instead a proper mark of respect for what the aforementioned duo achieved. It is reflective of what is required to make it to that illustrious territory.

Sea The Stars and Frankel went about their path to elite stardom in different ways. With Sea The Stars, he never won any race by further than two and a half lengths and delivered in the style of someone who wouldn’t use two words when one would suffice. But it was the stunning CV he built that set him apart.

A flawless three-year-old campaign in which he rattled off wins in six of the world’s most prestigious Group 1s in six consecutive months, there was nobody who could argue with his lofty standing by the time he brought the curtain down on his career with a spectacular triumph in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Frankel brought considerably more bells and whistles to the big occasion. His margins of victory included three double-digit length successes, as well as seven others by four lengths or further. He also raced on at four and enhanced his reputation further in that unforgettable final season.

CV comparisons

How does City Of Troy edge closer to the legendary pair? It feels as though we’re more likely to see him knock on the door of the pantheon of greats by following a Sea The Stars-like path, albeit his final destination in 2024 does not appear to be ParisLongchamp.

His last two wins at the highest level have come by a length, while his Epsom heroics came by two and three-quarters of a length - not Frankel-like distances.

If the son of Justify were given the chance to produce a similarly barnstorming display to his Juddmonte win in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown next month, he will have plundered four of the same Group 1s as Sea The Stars in the same season. Now that is quite the achievement, already only the second colt to complete the Derby-Eclipse-Juddmonte International treble, while also having the added bragging rights as being Champion Two-Year-Old in the 2024 European Classification. Unfortunately it seems a trip to Leopardstown next month isn’t plan A.

What would firmly put him in the picture, however, is a challenge that arguably looks tougher than anything Sea The Stars or Frankel ever faced - a crack at the Breeders’ Cup Classic on the Del Mar dirt this November.

When we have become accustomed at times to what could be described as safety-first campaigning with some of National Hunt racing’s biggest stars, it is genuinely refreshing to see the Coolmore partners approach such a mammoth challenge with a serious appetite.

Bold campaigning

There is obvious upside to trying from a commercial perspective, potentially opening a new door as a dirt stallion prospect, but there is risk involved too as he would look an obvious massive chance in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf on the same card.

Many top Ballydoyle representatives have tried their luck in the Classic but none have managed to get closer than their first runner in 2000 when Giant’s Causeway was beaten a neck by Tiznow.

Since then, we’ve seen 15 others test their mettle without having any joy, including leading lights such as Galileo (6th in 2001), Hawk Wing (7th in 2002), George Washington (6th in 2006 and pulled up in 2007), Henrythenavigator (second in 2008), Duke Of Marmalade (9th in 2008), Rip Van Winkle (10th in 2009), So You Think (6th in 2011), Declaration Of War (3rd in 2013), Gleneagles (8th in 2015), Churchill (7th in 2017) and Mendelssohn (5th in 2018).

City Of Troy probably represents Ballydoyle’s most viable contender for the race in some time, and that is quite the prospect to savour.

The debate over greatnesss is a subjective one, and an enjoyable argument for racing fans to chew over. It’s hard to argue, though, that a Breeders’ Cup Classic win on the dirt wouldn’t make City Of Troy a most rare find in modern racing. Roll on California.