It is one of the oldest dictums in racing that you should always forgive a good horse for one bad race, and it paid a rich dividend for favourite-backers at Epsom as Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy, beaten out of sight in the 2,000 Guineas last month, rediscovered his exceptional juvenile form to run out a convincing two-and-three-quarter-length winner of the 245th Derby.
“To be honest, it wasn’t very exciting,” Ryan Moore, City Of Troy’s jockey, said, but the punters who kept faith with the 3-1 shot after his flop at Newmarket would surely beg to differ. There was a very early drama as Voyage, the least experienced runner in the field, unshipped Pat Dobbs just after the start, and the loose horse soon worked his way to the front of the field.
