SOUTHWELL Racecourse would be thrilled to open its doors to City Of Troy and Aidan O’Brien after this week’s brilliant Juddmonte International Stakes winner was touted to warm up for an ambitious crack at the Breeders’ Cup Classic by working out at the British all-weather track.

The top-class three-year-old, who broke the course record when beating French ace Calandagan in Wednesday’s £1.25 million prize at the York Ebor Festival, would be following a route with some history for the Coolmore team in the US.

The mighty Giant’s Causeway memorably prepared for his tilt at the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic by heading to the Nottinghamshire course alongside two pacemakers for a nine-furlong exercise. He went on to finish closer than any other Ballydoyle runner has managed in the dirt highlight when agonisingly beaten a neck by Tiznow. Declaration Of War also appeared at the same track before his close third in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

The old fibresand surface at Southwell has been replaced in recent years by a tapeta surface, made up of a mixture of silica sand, wax and fibres, but despite the track change, the course still welcomes runners preparing for international dirt assignments nowadays.

Southwell’s executive director Mark Clayton told The Irish Field: “It’s very exciting and we’d be delighted to have Aidan and City Of Troy here for a racecourse gallop - it would be a privilege. We’ve obviously been very impressed with City Of Troy since the Guineas and the record time was the proof in the pudding on Wednesday.

“We do get the odd horse galloping here before going on to target bigger prizes abroad. It’s less often dirt races at the Breeders’ Cup but more so options in the Middle East. We’ve had leading trainers come here down the years and prepare for their international targets, but the last time we had anything as big as this was Aidan himself, before my time [with other major Breeders’ Cup hopes].”

Irish absence

City Of Troy had been installed as 6/4 favourite for next month’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, but O’Brien has indicated the Justify colt is most likely to go straight to Del Mar without another competitive run.

The move would mean an unusual seasonal programme for one of Coolmore’s leading Irish-trained performers, in that he has not run in Ireland at all as a three-year-old. In fact, he hasn’t been seen racing on these shores since winning a Curragh maiden on his two-year-old debut back in early July 2023.

City Of Troy is now no bigger than 4/1 favourite - and as short as 11/4 - for the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 2nd.

Speaking a day on from the Juddmonte International, O’Brien said: “Everyone seemed very happy with him the morning after he got back from York. Everything looks great with him. I’m not sure yet where we’ll see him next but, from listening to the lads, it’ll probably be the Classic. I doubt he’ll have a run in between now and then.

“Having spoken with Ryan [Moore], he could head away to somewhere like Southwell or Wolverhampton - one of the all-weather tracks in Britain - possibly five or six weeks before [the Breeders’ Cup].”

Ratings assessment

City Of Troy became the highest-rated horse in training according to Timeform’s rating system following his York heroics. His new mark of 130p takes him above the previous standard-setters White Birch and Kyprios, both on 128, but that is still 1lb behind the 131 achieved by Sea The Stars in the 2009 Juddmonte International.

On City Of Troy’s new rating, Timeform handicapper Rory King said: “If anything, that figure could be considered a touch conservative given the number of very smart horses down the field, but the proximity of Ghostwriter in third holds the form down somewhat in our eyes, while a significant track record needs viewing through the prism of a brisk following wind and fast times across the board on the day.

“It is possible to argue a sectional upgrade could be applied to the rating of the first two – despite the fast time the race wasn’t quite as strongly run as might have been expected and the pair of them were still drawing clear at the line – but a minor upgrade for the runner-up and maintaining a ‘p’ on the ratings of both of the first two seems a preferable approach.”

While Hawk Wing is the highest-rated horse ever trained by Aidan O’Brien on Timeform ratings with a mark of 136, the assessors believe City Of Troy remains capable of bridging the ratings gap - provided he does not run out of opportunities to do so.

King added: “City Of Troy and Calandagan retain the scope to post figures well into the 130s under the right circumstances, a shame the winner is unlikely to be kept in training next year as the two of them, with the likes of Economics thrown in for good measure, look potentially capable of pushing each other to superstar status.

“City Of Troy’s chance of surpassing his damsire Galileo’s Timeform rating of 134 – and even Hawk Wing’s 136 – may well hinge on whether or not he takes to dirt with a date with the Breeders’ Cup Classic looming, but even if he doesn’t handle it, his blend of precocity, speed, stamina, class and fine attitude give him the chance of being at least as successful at stud as any of those since his breed-defining damsire who have trodden the same path from Ballydoyle to take up stallion duties at Coolmore.”