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Don't underestimate White Birch - this will be a serious test for City Of Troy on Saturday

White Birch and Colin Keane see off Auguste Rodin in the Tattersalls Gold Cup
White Birch beat Auguste Rodin in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in MayCredit: Patrick McCann

It was a pulsating weekend of action at the Curragh and a healthy range of trainers experienced the winner's enclosure, but Aidan O'Brien's three-year-olds again reigned supreme after a commanding display from Los Angeles in the Irish Derby and a huge showing from Jan Brueghel, who beat his elders in the International Stakes amid conspicuous greenness.

Both are immensely talented, powerful colts and it pays some tribute to City Of Troy, given he has always been the jewel in the Ballydoyle crown among the latest Classic crop.

City Of Troy now heads to the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday and, as my colleague Julian Muscat writes, he is likely to face a small field with rather limited opposition. However, that doesn't mean he won't be seriously tested because in White Birch he faces a rival who can give him a captivating test.

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