CITY Of Troy has officially been ranked against the mighty Frankel – and come up 1lb short.
Aidan O’Brien’s ‘jet engine’ has pulverised rivals on all three starts, with his most recent a convincing three-and-a-half length win in the Dewhurst last weekend.
He has earned his owners John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith a cool £367,007 already.
Far, far greater riches lie ahead at stud though for this son of US Triple Crown winner Justify.
Hopefully the second stage of his career is at least another season away yet, though, with punters desperate to see if he can win the British Holy Grail in 2024 with the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger.
Betfair made him as short as 8-1 to do so.
Frankel won the Dewhurst en route to his unbelievable Guineas rout in April 2011.
Comparisons between the two have been rife from the start – and now we have official figures to back it up.
Frankel was rated 126 after his Dewhurst win, running off that mark when next seen at Newbury in April the following year.
Horse Racing Ireland, in their latest ratings release, have City Of Troy at 125.
The colt had been 118 after his awesome Superlative Stakes win, so he has been raised 7lb.
It’s worth nothing Frankel’s Dewhurst was his fourth career run – while it was City Of Troy’s third.
Experts Timeform agree with the ratings, giving City Of Troy 125 – with the potential for huge improvement.
The ratings have already split opinion though, with some saying the true test will be if City Of Troy trains on as a three-year-old.
One punter said City Of Troy’s Dewhurst victory was ‘more impressive’ than Frankel’s owing to the slow surface on the day.
Another wrote: “Love everything Frankel did but that performance by City Of Troy was more impressive than Frankel’s Dewhurst.”
But another said: “City Of Troy being compared to Frankel is ridiculous at this point.
“Get it maybe after a Classic win possibly – Pinatubo was a better two-year-old in my opinion.”
And another said: “Please don’t take this the wrong way but I’m reading tweets and just laughing at ‘City of Troy could be the next Frankel’.
“Get a grip! He’s no better than Too Darn Hot or Pinatubo.”
FREE BETS – GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Establishes time and monetary limits before playingOnly gambles with money they can afford to loseNever chases their lossesDoesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressedGamcare – www.gamcare.org.ukGamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org