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Troy Story
The son of Justify and this year’s Derby winner gains Timeform Horse of the Year accolades
CITY OF TROY came up short in his bid to become the first horse trained in Britain or Ireland to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Dirt, but his achievements on Turf in 2024 saw him voted Horse of the Year by Timeform’s staff, beating his Aidan O’Brientrained stablemate Kyprios, who dominated the staying division.
Charyn (Dark Angel) was third after a fantastic season in Europe that saw him win five times at a mile for Roger Varian, including three times in Group 1 company.
City Of Troy was the champion juvenile of 2023 and developed into Timeform’s highest-rated horse in Europe through his three-year-old season.
He earned a career-best figure of 130p for his length defeat of Calandagan (Gleneagles) in a strong edition of the Juddmonte International, a race that more than lived up to its name with runners from France and Japan.
City Of Troy was hailed by Aidan O’Brien as the best he’s ever trained but, while he was a top-class performer who also won the Derby and the Eclipse, the ratings don’t quite back up the trainer’s conviction.
Galileo, O’Brien’s first Derby winner in 2001 and the sire of City Of Troy’s dam, ended his three-year-old campaign with a Timeform rating of 134 based on his defeat of Fantastic Light in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
City Of Troy was hailed by Aidan O’Brien as the best he’s ever trained but.... the ratings don’t quite back up the trainer’s conviction
Furthermore, Australia, another of O’Brien’s record ten Derby winners, also ended his three-year-old season with a higher rating than City Of Troy achieving a figure of 132 for his victory in the Juddmonte International in 2014.
The highest-rated horse O’Brien has trained remains Hawk Wing, whose 10l victory in the 2003 Group 1 Lockinge Stakes earned him a rating of 136, but, still, he comes up short when compared to the highest-rated horse in Timeform’s experience Frankel, who was expertly nurtured by Sir Henry Cecil, and achieved a rated 147.
City Of Troy also picked up the title of champion middle-distance performer which, like all the awards with the exception of Horse of the Year, was determined by Timeform rating among horses in Europe.
He edged out Calandagan (129), while the King George winner Goliath (Adlerflug) and Tattersalls Gold Cup winner White Birch (Ulysses) were rated 128.
The champion sprint category – focusing on the top performers at 5f or 6f – was headed by Bradsell (Tasleet) whose victories in the Nunthorpe and Flying Five Stakes saw him earn a Timeform rating of 124 and establish himself as the best around at the minimum trip.
Over 6f the Group 1s were shared around with Mill Stream (Gleneagles) and Kind Of Blue (Blue Point) earning a rating of 122 through victories in the July Cup and Champions Sprint Stakes respectively.
The Australian sprinter Asfoora (Flying Artie), campaigned in Britain this summer, was also rated 122 for her win in the King Charles III Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot.
Charyn had failed to win during his threeyear-old campaign but he showed marked improvement at four and earned a career-best Timeform rating of 127 for his 2l win in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) at Ascot.
That was enough for him to edge out the three-year-olds Rosallion (Blue Point), rated 126, and Notable Speech (Dubawi), rated 125, to the champion miler crown.
Bluestocking (Camelot), like Charyn, had endured a frustrating and winless three-yearold campaign but she blossomed at four, also winning three times at the top level.
The highlight was her swansong success in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), which earned her a Timeform rating of 123 and saw her crowned champion female.
Others who showed very smart form and rated 122 were the Arc runner-up Aventure (Sea The Stars), the Prix de la Forêt winner Ramatuelle (Justify) and the Sun Chariot Stakes winner Tamfana (Soldier Hollow).
A career-threatening injury meant that Kyprios (125) made it to the track only twice in 2023, and he had to settle for second on both occasions, but he had a clear run of things this time around and pieced together a perfect campaign to re-establish himself as the champion stayer.
He perhaps didn’t show quite the same level of form as in 2022, but all his battling qualities were on display and he brushed aside his rivals to win seven times, including four Group 1s.
Shadow Of Light's Timeform rating of 120 is the lowest awarded to a champion juvenile colt by Timeform since the turn of the century
With eight Group 1 wins to his name he is now O’Brien’s most prolific winner at the highest level.
Timeform’s champion juvenile colt was Shadow Of Light (Lope De Vega), who achieved a rare feat by winning the Middle Park Stakes (G1) and the Dewhurst Stakes (G1) becoming only the second horse to do so since Diesis back in 1982.
However, Shadow Of Light’s Timeform rating of 120 is the lowest awarded to a champion juvenile colt by Timeform since the turn of the century.
Perhaps the best prospect among the twoyear-old colts is The Lion In Winter (Sea The Stars), who was so impressive in the Listed Acomb Stakes at York but missed out on subsequent engagements with a bruised foot.
The ‘p’ attached to his rating of 119 shows he is considered likely to improve.
There was a strong crop of fillies, though, with Lake Victoria (Frankel) finishing the campaign with a Timeform rating of 119p, the highest earned by a two-year-old female since Lady Aurelia (127) in 2016.
This year’s champion juvenile filly was unbeaten in five starts and registered Group 1 wins at 6f, 7f and a mile.
Desert Flower (Night of Thunder) was in four starts and her five-and-ahalf-length win in the Fillies’ Mile earned her a Timeform rating of 117p, the highest in the race since Minding won in 2015. A clash between Lake Victoria and Desert Flower in the 1,000 Guineas will be a race to savour.
TIMEFORM’S HORSE OF THE YEAR
1. CITY OF TROY
2. KYPRIOS
3. CHARYN
Champion Juvenile Colt
Winner: Shadow Of Light (120)
Runners-up: The Lion In Winter (119p), Delacroix (116p), Hotazhell (116)
Champion Juvenile Filly
Winner: Lake Victoria (119p)
Runners-up: Desert Flower (117p), Babouche (113)
Champion Sprinter
Winner: Bradsell (124)
Runners-up: Kind of Blue (122), Mill Stream (122), Asfoora (122)
Champion Miler
Winner: Charyn (127)
Runners-up: Rosallion (126), Notable Speech (125)
Champion Middle Distance
Winner: City of Troy (130p)
Runners-up: Calandagan (129), Goliath (128), White Birch (128)
Champion Stayer
Winner: Kyprios (125)
Runners-up: Trawlerman (124), Giavellotto (122)
Champion Filly and Mare
Winner: Bluestocking (123)
Runners-up: Ramatuelle (122), Tamfana (122), Asfoora (122), Aventure (122)
Race of the Year (determined by average Timeform master rating of first three finishers)
Winner: Juddmonte International (126)
Runners-up: King George (125), Gold Cup (124), Eclipse (124)
