Trainer Aidan O’Brien has already saddled a record seven winners of the Group One Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park and is hopeful of an eighth on Saturday (July 6th) when last month’s scintillating Betfred Derby hero City Of Troy, a horse he describes as “unique”, lines up as one of the eight runners. Staged over 10 furlongs, the Coral-Eclipse has a total prize fund of £750,000 and forms part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

The champion two-year-old of 2023 when his three victories included the Group One Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, the son of Justify disappointed when only ninth in the opening Classic of the season, the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 4th. However, he left that effort well and truly behind him in the Betfred Derby at Epsom Downs on June 1st when he came home the breathtaking two and three-quarter lengths winner of the premier Classic.

Reflecting on last month’s Derby success O’Brien, speaking on a Zoom today organised by QIPCO British Champions Series and The Jockey Club, said: “Everything has been good with City Of Troy since Epsom and all has gone according to plan so far. He had an easy week or 10 days after Epsom and then the build-up for the Coral-Eclipse started with him.

“The choice for him after Epsom was the Coral-Eclipse or the Irish Derby. Los Angeles (third in the Betfred Derby) went to the Irish Derby (which he won) and the plan was for City Of Troy to go to Sandown. We are looking forward to it.

“He took a bit of pulling up in the Derby. He had never run on a turning or undulating track before, had never been further than a mile and had never been dropped in. He had an awful lot to learn and Ryan (Moore, jockey) went out with the mindset he was just going to teach him, let him relax and feel his way with him. That’s what he did and Ryan was delighted with him – he said he took off a furlong out and that’s what we saw last year. It’s a very unusual trait in a horse.

“He has grown up and matured and we have been very happy with everything he has done since Epsom. I was delighted for the horse and everybody else at Epsom – obviously there is a big team of people around him all the time and I was delighted for them as they put in all the hard work, day in day out. It starts at the top with (owners) John and Sue (Magnier), Michael and Doreen (Tabor) and Derrick and Gay (Smith) and then works down along to us all.

Newmarket's disappointment

“It was a disappointing run at Newmarket and we were going into a lot of unknown territory at Epsom and we had a long way to get back from. You are never sure until it happens. We knew what he was last year and we knew what happened at Newmarket, so there was a lot riding on it at Epsom for the horse and everybody. I was delighted, relieved and thrilled for everybody.”

None of O’Brien’s previous nine Derby winners have gone on to contest the Coral-Eclipse, with the majority heading to the Irish Derby instead. A total of 10 winners of the Epsom Downs Classic have also enjoyed Coral-Eclipse glory in the same season, most recently Golden Horn in 2015.

Speaking about the decision to go to Sandown Park with City Of Troy, O’Brien said: “All you can ever do is your best and that is what we do every day. Hopefully everything goes well on Saturday. He seems well and everybody seems very happy with him so hopefully he runs well.

“He is a very different, unique horse and with that type of horse there is always pressure as everybody knows what he can do. There is a great sense of excitement and anticipation from everybody about what is going to happen on Saturday. It’s his first run over a mile and a quarter and his first run on a right-handed track and Sandown is an undulating track. It’s also his first run against older horses, so there are a lot of unknowns.

“We never thought any distance was a problem to him from when he was a two-year-old. He always gallops through the line, that’s what he does and never seems to be stopping in his races.

“We didn’t think the Coral-Eclipse would be any problem for him and I’m sure ‘The Lads’ (owners) have an eye on the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the end of the year for him, although they make their minds up from race to race.

Trying new things

“He proved what he could do over a mile and a half at Epsom so they maybe want to see what he can do over a mile and a quarter. ‘The Lads’ have shown over the years that they are willing to expose horses and try new things – they are not afraid to travel, they are not afraid to keep horses in training and they are not afraid of getting beat, which is great for racing and the public.

“If they had wanted to be safe, he would have been a very short price for the Irish Derby. We had a horse with a chance of winning that race (Los Angeles) and with City Of Troy coming to Sandown, I suppose they thought it was the right thing to do for the bigger picture. The horse is going to learn more and I’m sure we are going to learn more about him.

“I’m not sure any of our previous Derby winners had the pace City Of Troy had as a two-year-old – from the first time he raced, he looked a little bit different all the way along.”

O’Brien is also represented on Saturday by Hans Andersen, who will act as a pacemaker.

He said: “Hans Andersen will go forward and go an even pace, which will suit everybody. You want an even pace in these big championship races rather than a muddling, messy pace when you don’t really know what happened at the end of the race. We want to judge horses against one another.”

It has been 40 years since the Coral-Eclipse was won by Sadler’s Wells, who was trained at Ballydoyle by O’Brien’s unrelated predecessor Vincent O’Brien. Sadler’s Wells went on to be crowned champion sire in Britain and Ireland on a record 14 occasions.

Unlike anything Aidan has had before

Asked if he thinks City Of Troy could have a similar impact on the thoroughbred, O’Brien said: “City Of Troy has been unusual from day one and unlike anything we have had before. His dad was a dirt horse and his mum was a Group 1 turf winner, so he’s very different. How he came back to win the Derby from his run in the Guineas was also very different. For the breed going forward, he could be something very different.

“I was still at school when Sadler’s Wells won the Eclipse (in 1984) and he was the first horse I was really fascinated by – he ran with his head to one side but was very genuine. When we started training, our first Derby and Guineas winners were by Sadler’s Wells. He was an unbelievable stallion.

“The Coral-Eclipse is very important prestige-wise to a horse’s CV.  It comes at a good time in the calendar for three-year-olds to take on older horses.”

O’Brien’s seven previous Coral-Eclipse winners were Giant's Causeway (2000), Hawk Wing (2002), Oratorio (2005), Mount Nelson (2008), So You Think (2011), St Mark's Basilica (2021) and Paddington (2023).

Asked if any winners stand out, O’Brien concluded: “St Mark’s Basilica was very impressive I thought. I remember going there and he had two very good older horses to contend with and he treated them with total contempt really on the day, so that really stands out for me in my mind. It was just a little bit different.”