World #1 trainer Aidan O’Brien was left blaming himself after City Of Troy’s hugely anticipated bid for the Breeders’ Cup Classic ended in bitter disappointment at Del Mar on Saturday [Nov 2].
The Derby winner’s audacious attempt to win America’s richest race had captured the imagination of the entire racing world.
In the event, however, the race could hardly have offered any more obvious anticlimax as City Of Troy broke slowly from gate three and was always behind thereafter, the son of Triple Crown winner never seen with any semblance of a chance before finishing eighth of the 14 runners behind Sierra Leone.
Of course, this particular cloud came with a silver lining for the Coolmore team as the Chad Brown-trained winner also carries their colours – and the Irish behemoth has also bought stud rights in the runner-up Fierceness.
None of which, though, is likely to matter much to O’Brien after their European superstar – sent off just shy of a 4-1 chance on the US pari-mutuel – joined the litany of losers the trainer has saddled in the Classic.
“He lost it at the start and obviously I just didn’t have him prepared to come out quick enough,” said O’Brien. “We thought we did but we didn’t. He missed it and left Ryan with no chance really, the race was over at the start. We're learning all the time and, in my opinion, I should have had him coming out quicker and travelling quicker.”
Moore added: “They went so hard and he just couldn’t get going. I let him get comfortable and he’s done well to keep going to the line.”
Described by O’Brien as the best he has ever trained, City Of Troy now retires to stud at Coolmore’s primary Irish base. “He’s been an incredible horse and it’s so sporting of the lads to let us have a go at this race,” added the trainer.
“It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to have him and we’ll look forward to having his foals. It’s great the lads love the sport so much that they aren’t afraid to push the boundaries and put him in somewhere they haven’t been before.”
It was by no means all doom and gloom for O’Brien at Del Mar over the weekend, when Lake Victoria and Henri Matisse were both impressive winners of juvenile turf races on the Friday card – enough to bring their trainer level with the great D Wayne Lukas on 20 victories as the joint-winningmost Breeders’ Cup trainer. Bob Baffert and Sierra Leone’s trainer Chad Brown both have 19 wins to their name.
• Visit the Breeders’ Cup website and the Coolmore website
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