City of Troy draws Frankel comparisons after panel unveils new ratings

The deep visual impression left by City Of Troy’s unbeaten season as a juvenile in 2023 was confirmed by the sport’s official handicapping panel on Tuesday, as Aidan O’Brien’s colt received a rating of 125 in the International Classification – just 1lb below the brilliant Frankel’s mark of 126 at the same stage of his career.

Like Frankel, City Of Tory ended his juvenile campaign with a convincing success in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket, and O’Brien said on Tuesday that he is on course to start his season in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on 4 May, the Classic that Frankel turned into a procession in 2011.

Related: Talking Horses: will L’Homme Presse give British hopes respite at Cheltenham?

“He’s made good physical progress,” O’Brien said. “He’s medium-sized and a lovely, well-balanced horse [with] a lovely mind. He’s moving very well and looks like a horse who should have no problem over a range of distances.

“What makes him different is the tempo he goes in a race, and then he just kicks into another gear at halfway.”

The publication of the juvenile ratings on Tuesday was also a significant triumph for Justify, the US Triple Crown winner in 2018, as he is the sire of both City Of Troy and his stable companion, Opera Singer, the champion two-year-old filly thanks to her five-length success in the Prix Marcel Boussac. He is the first stallion to be responsible for both the colt and filly champions since Danehill in 2005.

Coolmore Stud bought Justify’s breeding rights shortly after his Kentucky Derby success nearly six years ago, and in addition to City Of Troy and Opera Singer, he also sired the winners of two juvenile events at last year’s Breeders’ Cup, the Juvenile Fillies, on dirt, and the Juvenile Turf.

Opera Singer is a half-sister to two top-class juveniles – Hit It A Bomb and Brave Anna – that did not train on at three, but O’Brien feels that “the Justify factor will make a massive difference” to Opera Singer.

Lingfield Park: 12.40 Asgard’s Captain 1.10 Twilight Fun 1.45 Island Native 2.15 Monks Mead 2.50 Sassy Redhead 3.25 Different Breed 4.00 Destinado

Catterick Bridge: 12.50 Didero Vallis 1.20 Lavida Adiva 1.50 Sadler’s Bay 2.25 Hajey 3.00 Henry Gray 3.35 Milajess 4.10 Wilful

Chepstow: 12.55 Livin On Luco 1.30 Broughshane 2.00 Pulling Stumps 2.35 Kourosh 3.10 Minella Blueway (nap) 3.45 Moonlighter (nb) 4.20 Mumbles

Kempton Park: 5.30 Glen Heste 6.00 Green Power 6.30 Alhather 7.00 Stella Hogan 7.30 Miss Monte Carlo 8.00 The Bay Warrior 8.30 Thirtyfourstitches

“Justifys improve a lot from two to three, they have more scope,” O’Brien said, “and she’s much bigger and scopier than they were.”

Equinox, who completed an unbeaten season with an emphatic success in the Japan Cup in November, was officially confirmed as the world’s best racehorse in 2023 at a ceremony in London on Tuesday afternoon, while the Japan Cup itself was named the strongest race of the year for the first time.

“Each time he ran there were big expectations,” Christophe Lemaire, who rode Equinox in all his races, said on Tuesday, “but on that horse, I had so much confidence that I had no fear, and to be on a galloping horse the way he ran was just amazing.

“As most of the top athletes, he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength, his physique allowed him to run fast and use a beautiful stride, and also he was very clever, so he understood very quickly what he had to do during the race.”