Cash injection or switching dates might be needed to stop the Guineas becoming irrelevant

Is the 2,000 Guineas on the road to becoming irrelevant? It’s a question that has arisen over the last few days after City Of Troy became the second Newmarket flop to triumph at Epsom in as many years. 

Of course, it could just be an extreme case of recency bias that the world’s best trainer has had two high-profile disappointments in the 2,000 Guineas, but there is surely more to unpick. 

In the Derby aftermath on Saturday, Aidan O’Brien took responsibility for City Of Troy’s ninth-placed finish at Newmarket, saying: “I made mistakes training him and that's the bottom line. There were stones that I should have looked under that I didn't. I left him too fresh and too unprepared and he just blew up in the stalls when he went in."