CITY OF TROY’S flop in the Breeders’ Cup Classic has divided opinion amoungst racing fans.
On Saturday evening the colt who had never raced on dirt attempted to make history as the first Ballydoyle horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
ReutersCity Of Troy was well backed before the race[/caption]
It was not to be, and instead City Of Troy got a bad start and finished down the field in a huge anti-climax.
Many regarded Aidan O’Brien’s ambitious attempt to win the £5 million race as a heroic move and were particularly charmed by his modest post-race interview.
When speaking to Sun Racing’s Matt Chapman, he was at pains to point out City Of Troy’s inability to break fast enough was completely his own fault, and he should have prepared the horse better.
But there was an inevitable social media backlash after the colt finished a sorry 13 lengths behind the winner, the Coolmore-owned Sierra Leone.
And punters took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to vent their frustration with O’Brien’s decision to run his superstar in the race that they believed he could never win.
A huge number believed City Of Troy was never going to be able to to show his true colours when racing on dirt.
One person said: “By “a little bit better prepared” he means “entered in a turf race.””
Another added: “My idol Aidan took the worst decision of his entire great career…”
Whilst another said: “Should have been with an American trainer.”
Other’s simply did not believe City Of Troy, who crashed and burned on his first outing of the season in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, was top class enough for the American Classic.
On this, one said: “The most over-hyped and over-rated horse in history.”
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Another said: “City of Troy is a good horse on his day amongst a crop of very average 3yo European Colts. A world-class horse he ain’t. No amount of Magnier hype will make it otherwise.”
City Of Troy’s preparation gallop at midlands track Southwell, which was supposed to get him used to galloping on a surface similar to the dirt he would experience at Del Mar, also came under fire.
One punter said: “Maybe don’t send your challengers to Southwell in future as that doesn’t help at all.”
However, given the horse jumped off near favourite for the Del Mar showpiece, it seems a huge number of people DID support O’Brien’s decision to run him on a foreign surface.
And the response to his failure was not all negative.
From some corners of X, formerly known as Twitter, there was an outpouring of love for the Ballydoyle trainer.
One fan said: “As always Aidan is a very honest man! Respect!”
Another added: “What a legend, blames himself first! So rare these days. Class.”
One punter agreed: “Love his attitude, doesn’t shy away from any “mistakes” and holds himself accountable. Love Aidan O’Brien.”
While the race did not unfold as most racing fans would have liked, the hype leading up to the big event was worthwhile in itself according to some fans.
One said: “You could tell in the first 50 yards that he wasn’t at home on the surface. Never experienced running in a race with such a fast tempo and never experienced dirt kickback. Credit to Coolmore for giving it a go!”
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