Have Ballydoyle got it all worked out for City Of Troy? Graeme Rodway on a fascinating tactical battle in the Eclipse

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There isn’t a yard with more strength in depth than Aidan O’Brien’s and that gives him options in Group 1s that others don’t have. Take a look at last week’s Irish Derby as an example. O’Brien had half of the eight runners and they dictated how the race was run.

The Ballydoyle team knew they had the strongest stayer in the race in Los Angeles and made sure it became a true test at the trip by sending out three lead runners to ensure an end-to-end pace. It worked perfectly as Los Angeles outstayed the speedier Ambiente Friendly.

However, they can also do it the other way when they have a speed horse. The last two Ballydoyle winners of the Eclipse were in that category and both times they didn’t run pacemakers, so the races effectively turned into sprints.