2000 Guineas Favourites - City Of Troy Remains Well-Backed as Only O'Brien Runner

The 2000 Guineas will have its smallest field for seven years, as 11 were declared for the opening Classic of the flat season at Newmarket on Saturday. Favourite backers will rejoice though, as City Of Troy was declared in his quest to live up to the tremendous reputation he has been labelled with all winter.

He is the clear 2000 Guineas favourite, trading at odds of 8/13 as a best price. Those odds are representative of the impression he left at two, when winning the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes in blistering fashion from the front. With the trimmed field, City Of Troy will only become a stronger 2000 Guineas favourite given he will be trainer Aidan O’Brien’s only runner in the race, signalling a huge show of faith in their son of Justify. All of Diego Velazquez, Henry Longfellow and River Tiber were not declared, as O’Brien was the only trainer not to declare a runner. 

Clear second favourite for the 2000 Guineas, Rosallion, has also been declared for the race by Richard Hannon. He is likewise a Group 1 winner, achieving his top level success in France, and is widely available at between 4/1 and 9/2, though is very unlikely to be challenging City Of Troy for favouritism bar an enormous gamble.

Those who are quietly fancied outside of the big two are Notable Speech and Night Raider. While neither would be considered a 2000 Guineas favourite at their prices, the pair are currently available at best odds of 9/1 and 16/1 respectively, and both bring unbeaten records from the all-weather to the table.

The outsider of the field for those left in the race is Ed Walker’s Ten Bob Tony. Those looking for fancy each-way prices can find him at 50/1 if they believe the recent Newmarket conditions stakes winner can cause an upset.

2000 Guineas Odds