Colm Greaves: Would the real City of Troy please stand up?
Jockey Stéphane Pasquier and Calandagan in the King Edward VII. Calandagan should again get the pace he needs. Picture: Tom Dulat/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse
If the global flat racing season begins in earnest with the staging of the Newmarket Guineas on the first Saturday in May and ends with the Japan Cup on the last Sunday of November then the York festival, which begins Wednesday, lies bang on the half-way mark of the 2024 campaign. And no proper half-time can be without an analysis of what’s just happened and an examination of what might be yet to come.
In truth, the 2024 flat season to date is channelling the same sort of feeling as when the half time whistle was blown in last month’s All-Ireland football final. Torrents of mouth-watering anticipation in the lead up to the game but just the odd flash of brilliance on the field of play. As most teenagers might put it, it’s all been a little bit ‘meh’ so far.
