Aidan O’Brien could run THREE in Coral-Eclipse with City Of Troy set for return

A STAMINA test for star City of Troy looks assured for Saturday’s feature Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Aidan O’Brien, who handles the Derby hero, told me today: “At the moment we will run Luxembourg, City of Troy and/or Hans Anderson.”

City of Troy will be a sizzling favourite for the mile and a quarter Group 1 showdown as he comes back in trip from the mile and a half at Epsom.

However, Luxembourg is a natural front runner and no mug as he made just about all to land the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom.

Hans Anderson would be a no hoper on paper, but he helped make a strong gallop for Auguste Rodin in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A small but select field is set to go to post, with Roger Teal’s Dancing Gemini expected to be a danger.

The son of Camelot was sixth in the Derby but second in the French 2000 Guineas over a mile and this intermediate distance is expected to be ideal.

The big race is live on ITV and I can’t wait for it.

O’Brien, of course, comes into the event in belting form after a terrific Royal Ascot and success in the Irish Derby via Los Angeles on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Black Type in horse racing… does anyone else think ‘what a pointless exercise’?

I wrote about the problematic Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in my Saturday column, which got me thinking about Black Type.

If you Google Black Type in horse racing, you will get this: “A horse’s name printed in bold-faced “black type” letters designates that the horse has won or placed in a stakes race. Black type. Breeders want it, horsemen look for it, horses need it. It’s a simple concept: Black type in pedigree pages specifies a level of superiority in a racehorse.”

Except it doesn’t does it? Or at least sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t.

If I asked someone to buy me a horse and they said to me have this it’s bred with Black Type I’d just laugh at them.

Let’s take Harry Charlton’s Hand of God as an example. He’s a colt and a son of Churchill but he has no Black Type.

Last time, though, he looked a monster in the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot.

I’d have him as a stallion all day long over any number of colts who have picked up Black Type.

Quite simply, only the laziest bloodstock agent of all time would simply rely on Black Type in a horse’s pedigree. It’s a pointless exercise.

If you are buying a horse forget about Black Type. Just do some homework!

No wonder there are so many low grade horses bred with Black Type just taken for granted as meaning the sire or dam was decent.

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