City Of Troy smashes York track record to join legends

A length is not, on the face of it, the winning margin of an outstanding champion. Frankel, after all, had seven to spare when he underlined his brilliance in the International Stakes here in 2012.

- Greg Wood

But some one-length victories are more equal than others and both the manner of City Of Troy's success yesterday and the course-record time he recorded as he did so will ensure that his defeat of Calandagan in the 53rd running of this race will rightly be remembered as one of the finest of all.

Both City Of Troy, who won the hard way from the front, and Calandagan, who produced his trademark turn of foot but was still no match for the outstanding winner, broke the track record set by Sea The Stars - another of the elite International winners - in 2009.

But beyond the bare numbers of margin and time, it was the ease with which City Of Troy opened up and extended after setting a record-breaking pace through the first mile that was truly memorable.