WE came to see City Of Troy crowned King… but ended up with a King-sized anti-climax.
It was the impressive 16-1 shot Notable Speech who emerged unbeaten from the Qipco 2000 Guineas - not Ballydoyle’s long odds-on favourite.
The only sound you could hear through the stunned silence at Newmarket was the cheers of the bookies who made a killing on the back of this upset.
There had been so much expectation around City Of Troy after a dominant 2023, but he was more wooden horse than wonder horse on his much anticipated return.
He was sent forward out of the gates by Ryan Moore but, as soon as he came under pressure three furlongs out, he back-pedalled and was beaten before you could say burnt fingers.
A dumbfounded Aidan O’Brien, who offered an apology for his horse’s flop, said: “He got a little upset in the stalls which is unusual and then he just flattened out.
“There’s no doubt it’s too bad to be true. We will take him home and see how he is and check him over. It’s a shock, it's not his true running so we have to take it on the chin.”
O’Brien worked wonders with Auguste Rodin last season, getting him to bounce back from a flop in this race to win the Derby a month later.
Another miracle is required between now and June 1, and the bookies pushed City Of Troy right out to 8-1 (from 5-4) in the Derby betting.
But the exciting Notable Speech was cut for every mile race imaginable after proving he was anything but a one-trick pony, having done all of his winning on the all-weather to this point.
He produced a jaw-dropping turn of foot at Kempton last month to book his ticket to this race, and a scorching racecourse gallop at the Rowley Mile gave Charlie Appleby encouragement in the build-up to the big one.
And he travelled like an absolute dream under William Buick, easing past the beaten favourite in a matter of strides before finding plenty in the closing stages to win by a length and a half.
Appleby said: “You can never be too confident coming into a race like this, but the way his preparation has gone over the last month, we expected him to run well.
“His gallop here a couple of weeks ago filled us with confidence, I’ve been trying to keep a lid on our excitement in the last few days.
“He was just a little weak as a two-year-old which is why he never ran. You don’t often see Classic winners come off the all-weather, but clearly he is a proper racehorse.”
Fair to say Richard Hannon had a few mixed emotions as his two runners, Rosallion and Haatem, ran screamers to fill the places.
He said: “I’m so pleased with both my horses and we have lots to look forward to. Rosallion travelled so well and looked like he was going to win - there will be lots of big days in him.
“When City Of Troy went backwards I thought we had a great chance.That’s racing.”
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