I THINK if I was City Of Troy and had a look at the ante-post market for the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown next weekend, I’d be quite happy that I’ve a date in the late autumn sun at Del Mar to look forward to rather than a Foxrock outing.

While the pre-race publicity is surprisingly quite muted, and the race itself has had a few knocks in print, it could still be a fascinating contest if those to the top of the market come to participate.

City Of Troy apart, is it that much below the standard of the Juddmonte International, won by what we are told is a really great horse, meaning it must have had a rather decent field?

Auguste Rodin, you expect, will be more at home here, and with the three-year-old group of Economics, Ghostwriter and Los Angeles, it makes an interesting rivalry and should clarify how good the classic generation, vis a vis City Of Troy, are. Auguste Rodin, whose best form still sets a high standard, is a solid representative for the older horses and the Group 1 winner Luxembourg appears the pacemaker.

Setting up

With the Leopardstown mile and two furlongs often needing jockeys to be very aware of how the race is setting up, the Ballydoyle team tactics add another interesting element.

Notably, the two horses who could add a small boost to City Of Troy’s lofty reputation, the Derby second Ambiente Friendly and the Eclipse second Al Riffa, were trading at quite long odds earlier. It’s a pity White Birch has been ruled out but the Japanese challenger adds another element. The brother to Sottsass was third in their Derby and contributes to an intriguing race.