Five of the last nine Derby winners to line up for the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on the next start have been beaten, but with the exception of Reference Point, who went down narrowly behind the outstanding Mtoto in 1987, they turned out to be no more than average winners of the Epsom Classic.
The four who completed the double, on the other hand, were all among the best Derby winners of recent decades and City Of Troy (3.35), the hot favourite for Saturday’s Eclipse Stakes, already looks like a worthy successor to the likes of Nashwan, Sea The Stars and Golden Horn.
