TROY JOY OPENS THE FLOODGATES

lan Heitman recounts a month of stunning track highlights

- lan Heitman

York's four-day Ebor Festival once again had excellent prize money and some top-class racing with City Of Troy winning a very competitive Juddmonte International for his third Group 1 of the year.

Content gained her first success at the highest level by winning the Yorkshire Oaks and Bradsell showed he is the leading 5f horse by winning the Nunthorpe.

The opening 2yo race of the meeting, the Group 3 Acomb Stakes over 7f looked a match in the betting with Ruling Court, the evens favourite, and The Lion In Winter, a 2/1 shot, both having won their only starts impressively. Ryan Moore set out to lead all the way on The Lion In Winter with his market rival racing in midfield. Most of the 11 runners were under pressure with two and a half furlongs to go, the exception being The Lion In Winter who was shaken up with a furlong and a half to go and he responded well inside the final furlong, running on strongly with Moore only pushing him out to win in course record time from Wimbledon Hawkeye with Ruling Court third.

The Goffs Million at the Curragh on September 28 could be The Lion In Winter's next race and he will be very hard to beat in that before bidding to become Aidan O'Brien's ninth winner of the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on October 12. The Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket also on September 28 could be Wimbledon Hawkeye's next race and he might be overpriced at his current odds of 14/1. It will be interesting if Charlie Appleby opts to miss the Dewhurst with Ruling Court and run him in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes over a mile on the same day, a race that he has won for the last four years including with subsequent 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus.