Southwell, England, is expecting an outbreak of City of Troy fever Sept. 20 when more than 1,500 racing fans are expected to take advantage of the free entry to catch a glimpse of the highest-rated turf horse in the world as he stretches his legs in public on European soil for the final time this season.
The Justify colt has set the racing world alight—bouncing back from a ninth in the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) to win the Epsom Derby (G1), Eclipse Stakes (G1), and Juddmonte International Stakes (G1). And yet his biggest challenge lies ahead with his season—and quite possibly career—finale to come in an audacious bid for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on dirt at Del Mar Nov. 2.
Aidan O’Brien has opted for a day trip to the Tapeta of Southwell Racecourse with his stable star to help him adapt to the challenge of a first race on dirt—as the Ballydoyle supremo leaves no stone unturned in his long-pursued quest for a first Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Asked about the level of interest, Southwell clerk of the course John Holliday said: “Lots. Certainly more than we were expecting! We have 1,200 people booked in already with tickets and we’re expecting quite a few walk-ups, so it could be nearer 1,500 by the time we get to Friday.
“When it was initially discussed we expected a fair bit of excitement, but he’s a horse who’s really captured people’s imagination and if he were to win the Classic it would be great. As I said to Mr. O’Brien, if we can play a small part it would be fantastic.”
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Responding to the interest, O’Brien said: “He’s always been such a fascinating horse for everyone so it’s great to hear the public are so interested in him as well, and fair play to the lads for allowing everything to be so open and transparent with the day out at Southwell.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien with City of Troy
“We want to give him the best chance we can of being at his best for the Classic and we feel that bringing him away for a day at Southwell will do just that. We’re obviously delighted to see so much interest from everybody and looking forward to bringing him over. Everything seems good with him at the moment.”
Such is the interest, Holliday said Southwell would go above and beyond to provide gallop watchers with a fuller racing experience. He added: “Because of the interest he’s generated we’ll open some bars, the Tote will be open, we’ll put up the big screen and broadcast the racing off-course before the gallops because we’re expecting them to be a little bit later in the afternoon. We’ll be open from 1 p.m.
“They’re bringing their own American stalls, their own stalls team, ambulance, vets. All the hardware’s arriving Thursday, and then the horses are arriving Friday morning. It’s a fairly big operation. It’s getting towards being a full-blown race day from an organizational point of view.
“We have them in the stables, we’ve had 30-odd press requests, we’ve been asked for permission to film in the stables, I think it’ll be a busy old afternoon.”
O’Brien has gone close in the Classic before. Giant’s Causeway was beaten a neck at Churchill Downs in 2000, while a year later subsequent supersire Galileo was sixth at Belmont Park—with both races won by the only dual winner in the Classic’s history, Tiznow .
Both horses worked at Southwell in the build-up to their attempts to win America’s premier weight-for-age contest and, while O’Brien had moved away from using Southwell to prep his Classic contenders he has returned this year with a new, more intense approach.
Earlier this month the meticulous O’Brien said he envisioned a strenuous workout, with City of Troy working fast over a mile, with four or five others breaking from American-style starting stalls to try and replicate the early intensity of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
In total O’Brien has saddled 14 runners in the Classic this century, with Henrythenavigator finishing second to Raven’s Pass at Santa Anita Park in 2008.
