AIDAN O’BRIEN has City Of Troy fired up and ready to go ahead of his date with destiny at the Breeders’ Cup.
The Derby winner stepped out onto the track at Del Mar just after sunrise on Tuesday for the first time since arriving in California late Saturday night.
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And he was keen to get on with things under his regular rider Rachel Richardson, who was grinning from ear to ear as they arrived back at the international barn after a quick leg stretch.
The three-year-old is the hot favourite on both sides of the Atlantic for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, despite the fact he has never raced on dirt before.
But O’Brien, who has been trying to win the prestigious Classic for over two decades, says he has never saddled a runner in the £5.4 million race with a better chance.
And while he was chuffed with the colt drawing well in stall three, he admitted the entire race could hinge on how well gets out of the starting gates.
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O’Brien said: “I think the draw is a good one, you’d rather be inside than outside.
“The danger when you’re drawn in is if you’re not quick enough they might fall on top of you, because the races here are fierce and the American horses are so quick away.
“We’ve done everything we can do to prepare him for this race. When we were getting ready for the Derby we had to get him to settle and slow down.
“But at the back of our minds we’ve been thinking about this race and knowing we are going to have to rev him up again for this race because you can lose the race at the start if you’re not ready.”
Given his demeanor on the track, City Of Troy is clearly ready for his life.
He was awash with sweat after completing one lap of the dirt at Del Mar, but O’Brien doesn’t view that as a negative.
He continued: “It wouldn’t be a problem, sweating never bothers me. I’d rather they were sweating than not because it means they’re up for it, rather than coming here and floating around.
“The Classic is going to be ferocious and he is going to have to be on his game. If he is in any way laid back you’ll get wiped out, so I’d rather he was a little bit edgy.
“Before he ever ran at two it was the dream to run him in this race. It’s been a long road here but we are here and we are all very excited.”
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