The Irish Derby has become a cringing embarrassment and City Of Troy decision is the latest body blow
A lengthy press release landed in my inbox last Friday. It carried the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby logo and ran to 1,167 promotional words focusing on the social elements of the Derby meeting at the Curragh.
On Sunday, with a contrasting economy of style, Coolmore Stud used a mere 30 words to announce that City Of Troy would miss the Irish Derby in favour of the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.
This widely anticipated decision, thoroughly understandable in commercial terms, is a body blow to the 2024 the race, run at a track where the Coolmore partners are important stakeholders.
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