Coming off famed Tattenham Corner and into the long homestretch at Epsom Downs, City of Troy, under Ryan Moore, made a spectacular move from 10th place, flying into contention with about a quarter-mile left and finishing things off with a mighty run to the wire winning the Derby by 2 3/4 lengths Saturday.
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A four-race winning streak is nothing new for Romantic Warrior, the Hong Kong-based gelding who will be favored to win his Japanese debut at Tokyo Racecourse in Sunday’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen Stakes at a mile.
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There are races where the outcome is in doubt even after the horses have crossed the finish, and there are others where a horse looks a sure winner long before that, and so it was Friday at Epsom Downs in the Oaks where Ezeliya, moving sweetly from start to finish, scored a three-length victory.
Ace Impact, a brilliant winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October, only showed depth of his ability winning the Prix du Jockey Club at odds of nearly 9-1 in early June. Whoever comes out on top of this year's renewal of France's derby on Sunday at Chantilly is, like Ace Impact, a horse who has who has not yet revealed his potential.
Hong Kong Selections for Sunday, June 2, 2024, at Sha Tin.
Shortly after Tannhauser lost his seventh consecutive group stakes in Australia in April, he was gelded. The change worked. Tannhauser rebounded to win the Group 3 Rough Habit Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Doomben Racecourse in Brisbane on May 18 as a prep for Friday’s Group 1 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm, also in Brisbane.
To find an Aidan O'Brien colt who had been a top 2-year-old, flopped as the favorite in the 2000 Guineas, and returned to win the Derby, one must go all the way back to . . . 2023. Auguste Rodin ran 12th in the Guineas last year and a month later won the Derby, and City of Troy follows the same pattern.
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Declan Schuster's Hong Kong Selections and Analysis for Sunday, June 2, 2024, at Sha Tin.
It's remarkable that either Aidan O'Brien or John Gosden has trained the Oaks winner the last 10 years. O'Brien has six victories during that span, Gosden four, last year's with his son Thady down as co-trainer. Gosden is not winning the 2024 Oaks on Friday at Epsom because he has no runner in the 1 1/2-mile race. O'Brien starts two, the three-race maiden Rubies Are Red and Ylang Ylang, the favorite with English bookmakers on Wednesday.
Hong Kong Selections for Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at Sha Tin.
