FAVOURITE City Of Troy silenced the doubters with an emphatic Epsom Derby victory amid loose horse drama.
Voyage unseated early and ran in and out of the runners round Tattenham Corner and down the hill.
PACity Of Troy was simply sensational in winning the Derby – coming a month after his awful 2000 Guineas flop[/caption]
ReutersLoose horse Voyage threatened to cause chaos throughout the 1m4f race[/caption]
ReutersRyan Moore was perfect in the saddle aboard hot Derby favourite City Of Troy[/caption]
Ryan Moore looked a bit boxed in on the 3-1 Aidan O’Brien-trained superstar two-year-old.
But there was an instant response when he hit go and the son of Justify absolutely flew home.
It was justification for his legendary trainer, who was on a massive rebound mission after City Of Troy flopped completely in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in May.
Moore said: “We got a few things wrong at Newmarket in the Guineas. We identified those and got it right today.
“He had the loose horse in front of him but he quickened well and you have to be delighted with what he did.”
It was a 1-3 for Ireland with O’Brien’s 6-1 Los Angeles finishing in third.
Sandwiched in the middle was big Brit hope Ambiente Friendly who ran so well to finish second at 9-2.
O’Brien said: “So many people all the way along put their heart and soul into this horse.
“For us it’s so exciting and Ryan gave him an incredible ride.
“I made mistakes training him for the Guineas and we discussed it before – the Guineas was definitely my fault, he was too fresh and unprepared.
“That’s just the reality of it. But we learned from it.
“Since then everything has been beautiful. He really grew up. The incredible thing is the cruise and ability he has, it’s so exciting.
“He’s no doubt the best Derby winner I have trained. He quickens and he stays.
“He’s just an incredible horse.”
City Of Troy was smashed into 5-1 for the Arc in Paris in October but the dirt surface in the US for the Breeders’ Cup could also be a target.
And of course the millions and millions and millions City Of Troy will almost undoubtedly go onto make at stud.
Bookies were left licking their wounds after the result with City Of Troy by far their biggest loser.
Paddy Power’s Paul Binfield said: “That was a very bad result for the layers as City Of Troy was the worst result in our book and it was particularly bad in the betting shops so those customers are in absolute clover.
“That’s the second year running Aidan has conjured a Lazarus-style comeback in the biggest betting Flat race of the year and we’re highly likely to ignore any poor performance from a well-fancied Ballydoyle horse in next year’s 2000 Guineas.”
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