Coolmore’s confidence in Triple Crown winner Alignment and his sire, Scat Daddy, could make an impressive run at this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championship.
That thought flashed through my mind right after watching the Epsom Derby (G1) winner Troy City won his third consecutive Group 1 on 21 August at York with a commanding lead in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) which he controlled throughout the race before winning by a length.
I don’t have any numbers or scientific studies on this next point (yet), but intuitively, that leading style suggests that Kentucky-bred City of Troy could be a good fit for dirt racing. Kudos to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series’ international schedule for linking some races like the 1 1/16-mile Juddmonte International with the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)—reminding winners of that lucrative option.
After Troy City clinched a ticket to the $7 million Classic Tournament on November 2 at Del MarTrainer Aidan O’Brien has backed such a plan for the Coolmore stallion. O’Brien has never won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“The boys can do whatever they want but we’ve always dreamed of him being a Classic horse,” O’Brien told the Racing Post. “He’s staying, he’s been so strong, we’re hoping the boys can go to the Classic with him; it would be a dream for him.”
While Win and You’re In spot to the Classic may provide a little extra motivation, Coolmore has never been one to shy away from moving from grass to dirt. Perhaps most famously, Giant’s Causeway in his 3-year-old season recorded a brave runner-up finish to Tiznow in the 2000 Classic at Churchill Downs. Giant’s Causeway counted the Juddmonte International as one of his five Group 1 wins on turf that year.
There is plenty of confidence overseas that City of Troy will handle the clay-court affair well, with European-based bookmakers on August 22 listing City of Troy as the favourite for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, at odds of 3-1 to 4-1.
Justify never raced on turf in his short but spectacular career, retiring after winning the 2018 Belmont Stakes (G1) to complete his Triple Crown victory. Coolmore then purchased Justify from owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners and Starlight Racing to run him at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
It was also home to Justify’s stallion, Scat Daddy, until his death in 2015. Scat Daddy won the 2006 Champagne Stakes (G1) as a Grade 2 and the 2007 Florida Derby (G1) as a Grade 3. All of this apparent versatility stems from Scat Daddy’s stallion Johannesburg, who as a youngster won champion/heavyweight titles in the United States, England, France and Ireland.
Of Scat Daddy’s 136 black-type winners to date, 58 have won on dirt tracks and 92 have won on turf, with 14 runners, such as Grade 1 winner Mendelssohn successful on both fronts.
Troy’s dam, Together Forever, by Galileo, won a Group 1 race at age 2 and is a full sister to Forever Together, winner of the 2018 Epsom Oaks (G1).
