I’ve got a runner who’s caught Oisin Murphy’s eye lined up for Royal Ascot glory

AIDAN O’BRIEN told us City Of Troy was back — and we should have known better to even question it.

I did say before the Derby if the champion two-year-old from last year turned up at Epsom we’d all be playing for place money but, in my heart of hearts, I don’t think I saw that performance coming.

All I can do is take my hat off to Aidan and his team.

Overall I was pleased with the runs of our two in the Derby. Sayedaty Sadaty race close to a strong pace but really battled on well to finish fifth, having just been done in a photo for fourth, at 50-1.

Provided everything goes smoothly with him over the next week or so, I would say he is likely to turn up at Royal Ascot, and probably in the Queen’s Vase.

I think the extra couple of furlongs in that race will suit him well, he’s a strong stayer.

We are going to go in the other direction with Bellum Justum, who didn’t quite get home on pretty dead ground but acquitted himself well in seventh.

He will return to a mile and a quarter in the Hampton Court Stakes, which is a Group 3, so I’d be hopeful of a big run.

And as for Secret Satire in the Oaks, we were very disappointed, I expected her to run a much better race.

She never looked totally comfortable so we will just take our time with her and she will no doubt run at a more convential track next time out.

There is no rest for the wicked, and we had half the weighing room at Park House on Wednesday morning putting the string through their paces as we build up towards Royal Ascot.

The little drop of rain we had meant we could get onto the turf gallops and work around 90 or 100 horses, so it was a busy old morning as we gear up for the biggest week of the year.

Hollie Doyle was down riding out with us — as was my fellow Sunracing collumnist Hayley Turner.

David Probert, Kevin Stott, Rob Hornby, Jason Watson, Joshua Bryan . . . and of course Oisin Murphy were here, too.

We had enough jocks to stage our own little private race meeting!

One that Oisin rode in a very eye-catching piece of work is Tropical Storm.

He is a lovely two-year-old by Eqtidaar and he finished second to a good horse of Richard Hannon’s at the Guineas meeting.

He will either have a crack at the Coventry or the Norfolk at Royal Ascot and it wouldn’t shock me if he went very well.

On Wednesday we’ll give the Ascot squad — which will probably be about 20-strong — their final piece of work.

After that, you just wrap them in cotton wool and hope nothing goes wrong!

Our standout runner today is definitely the very talented NIGHT SPARKLE (3.00 Haydock) in the Lester Piggott Stakes.

She only joined the yard in September from Ireland and we were getting to know her for a little while. But she ran a lovely race to finish second for today’s rider Kevin Stott in a Group 3 at York last month.

If she runs to that sort of level again she will be right there at the finish.

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