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Two Year Olds so far

Nowadays he could have been sold on to Paul Nichols (or Hendo) and had fifty seven wind ops before a tilt at Cheltenham.
 
Too many with wind deformities being bred from probably. Of course it can have a major impact and we do now have vast improvement in the way that issues are diagnosed but trainers (certainly NH and it’s creeping in on the Flat too) are doing multiple wind ops, and I’m not sure that’s beneficial to the breed long term.
 
edgt said:
Anyone here old enough to remember Apalachee ?
Fifty years ago, before my time he was all time top rated Irish 2 yo with 10-5 in Madrid Free Handicap.
Third in 2000 Gns to Nonoalco when long odds on favourite.
Had possible wind issues and returned to USA.
Like most Round Table stock he was a moderate enough sire but of course wind issues would not have helped that career either.
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Yes, I recall Apalachee but couldn't have gone into that level of detail.

I almost posted earlier, "... but what if COT ends up not training on?"

Did he really beat anything today, though?

The next four home have their ORs average out at 104. The soft ground will have exaggerated the distances but in winning by 3.5 lengths he's probably run to 114+, compared to his OR of 118.

There have been plenty of higher rated Dewhurst winners.

The flip side of that is that the likes of Brigadier Gerard was unimpressive more than once in soft/heavy ground but his class saw him through.

Was anyone ringside after the race to see how hard the colt was breathing? They appear to be heading down this new track of claiming the horse has never been tired; that they've never got to the bottom of him? Have they ever tried to get to the bottom of their good juveniles? Wouldn't that be bad for them anyway?

I'm very sceptical about all the patter emanating from Coolmore with their 'superstars'. Every year one or other is always the next coming.

I've no doubt City Of Troy is sh1t hot but I suppose the breeding side of the operation demands that the hype is always maximised.
 
Coming up with something new to say is the deal.
" Great Natural Pace " was a buzz phrase until the mimics got hold of it.
Cash Asmussen gave Montjeu the Concorde comparison after G Prix de Saint Cloud; every decent horse has been an aeroplane since.
All AP is doing is trying to do the Justify justice, so to speak.
 
edgt said:
Their Frankel , according to Michael Tabor.
Big words but from debut this horse has not put a foot wrong.
Given his sire never ran at two City Of Troy can only improve; if he does then the sky is the limit.
Zafonic's Dewhurst win was the most impressive I have seen but I have seen all this guy's races and evens for 2000 Gns looks a fair bet 6 months out.
Let us hope he shows up.
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Early days, but the Frankel comparison might well have some justification. Certainly won with similar ease,and (arguably) against a similar field.
Michael Tabor also acknowledged Aidan's propensity for talking up his horses,but conceded he might be spot on in this case.
A truly exciting prospect, imo.
 
And Frankel has just been voted the People’s Champion. Must say I thought Dessie was a cert but he was only third with Kauto filling second and Rummy in fourth.
 
jinnyj said:
And Frankel has just been voted the People’s Champion. Must say I thought Dessie was a cert but he was only third with Kauto filling second and Rummy in fourth.
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I thought NH was the game :lol:

The Champ wins again!
 
These are the sectionals from yesterday. I think the closing par at Newmarket is around 100/101% (at least by Timeform) so it would seem Moore has ridden the other jockeys to sleep out in front.

Screenshot (50).png
 
edgt said:
On the softer surface there was nothing soft about sub 12 second furlongs methinks.
Ryan may have ridden them to sleep but he had the horse to do it with.
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Absolutely, which is why I was keen to see him do it from the front.

I'm a great believer that in soft ground the best place to be is up front so long as you're not overdoing the pace.
 
edgt said:
On the softer surface there was nothing soft about sub 12 second furlongs methinks.
Ryan may have ridden them to sleep but he had the horse to do it with.
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Ryan knew exactly what he had under him,and rode the perfect race so none could challenge.
Early days yet but, on his pegigree, I can see the the long-sought Coolmore triple crown as his for the taking.
 
One possible fly in the ointment is if the ground turns up like it did last spring.
Very very few horses can act on that and it could ruin his season.
Also, the Scat Daddy offspring that graced these shores previously needed firm ground and tongue ties to perform to their best.
Justify stock do not seem to have that problem yet but this is just his second crop.
Talking to a colleague this morning who knew Apalachee's work rider ( he also rode Roberto)_ the work rider suspected Apalachee had respiratory issues through the spring.
Either MVOB did not consider the possibility affecting his horse's performance or thought he was that far superior it did not matter.
Either way, it was not a happy ending at Newmarket.
Whether or not you listen to thunder is entirely up to you.
 
That’s a pretty hefty rating TF have given to City of Troy, well deserved, though.

By Timeform — published 16th October 2023
Andrew Asquith provides the Timeform ratings reaction following Future Champions Festival at Newmarket.
Newmarket’s Future Champions Festival produced another cracking two days of racing, but the one horse who stole the show was undoubtedly City of Troy (125p from 119p) who produced the best two-year-old performance of the season in the Dewhurst Stakes on Saturday.
Six of his seven rivals had already won a pattern event, so the race did have plenty of depth, but even before the race it was City of Troy who was the main focal point, and it was hard not to be impressed by his display on the track, winning in the style of a top-class prospect.
City of Troy produced a performance as good as any in the race over the past decade, while only Frankel achieved a higher Timeform performance rating in the Dewhurst this century.

As at 17/10
TWO-YEAR-OLDS
125p CITY OF TROY
120p HENRY LONGFELLOW
119p VANDEEK
118 ANCIENT WISDOM
117 BUCANERO FUERTE
116p ROSALLION
114p ARABIAN CROWN
114p OPERA SINGER (f)
114 BIG EVS
114 DANCING GEMINI
113 UNQUESTIONABLE
112p BEAUVATIER
112 ALYANAABI
111p TASK FORCE
111 RAMATUELLE (f)
110p FALLEN ANGEL (f)
110p GHOSTWRITER
110 RIVER TIBER
109p ARMY ETHOS
109p EBEN SHADDAD
109p INQUISITIVELY
109 IBERIAN
 
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Simon Rowlands's sectional analysis isn't up at the ATR website yet but this is what he wrote in the results section:

An eagerly anticipated contest featuring the return to action of City of Troy, who still held top position among the two-year-olds despite not having been seen since July. In the event, he did not disappoint one bit, raising the bar still further with a most authoritative success, and looking very much like a star of the future, as well as of the present, his 124 rating (including a sectional upgrade) the highest in the race since 126-rated Frankel in 2010, though by a little rather than a lot from Pinatubo (123 in 2019), U S Navy Flag (122 in 2017), Too Darn Hot (121 in 2018) and Churchill (121 in 2016), the likelihood being that his opposition was not the strongest for this race. City of Troy also won by the widest official margin in recent times, and it would have been given as a bit further still had the official going been accurate. Times suggest that the ground was more like “good to soft” than the “soft” officially stated, even after due allowance for wind assistance, and the Racecourse Judge amended the next three margins accordingly. The race was won in a pretty good time despite the pace being on the steady side until after halfway, City of Troy’s final 2f of 23.19s equivalent to a sprightly 104.5% finishing speed.

City Of Troy, 122+2 here, 119+4 previously) goes into winter quarters as a short-priced favourite for the Guineas (around evens), Derby (around 5/2) and even the St Leger (4/1) after maintaining his unbeaten record with a sparkling performance very worthy of Champion Two-Year-Old status, making all and initially going a bit slower than par, quickening 3f out and a couple of lengths to the good when ridden over 1f out, forging on further in superb style and with his jockey mostly just showing him the whip late on. It would take something pretty special to beat him in the first colts’ classic if he returns in this form, while his breeding (by Justify, out of the Fillies’ Mile winner and Irish Oaks fourth Together Forever) and striding (has a long and quite slow stride, with his cadence in this varying between 2.30 strides/second and 2.13 strides/second) suggests he could well be even better at 10f/12f than 7f/8f in due course. Some of the claims made on his behalf seem over the top, or at least a tad premature, but he is the most exciting juvenile seen in these parts for a few years now
 
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