City of Troy’s career reaches compelling crossroads after

Deciding the winner’s next move comes with risk – race in the Travers Stakes and Breeders’ Cup, or take the traditional route?

City Of Troy has a binary form line of 111-01 after his smooth and comprehensive success in the Derby at Epsom on Saturday, and when his racing career concludes – hopefully in November 2025, but perhaps more plausibly in five months’ time – the zero in the 2,000 Guineas last month may well prove to have been every bit as significant as any of the ones.

There is an alternate reality in which City Of Troy did not get upset in the stalls before the Guineas and remains unbeaten, and in which this column is discussing the pros and cons of sending him to the St Leger at Doncaster in September, the final leg of the Triple Crown.