https://oldhorseracenames.co.uk/troy/Troy was the runaway winner of the 1979 Derby. Willie Carson later described the seven-length winner as “the best colt I have ever ridden”. In the second half of the 23-runner field rounding Tattenham Corner, he produced a withering run on the outside to demolish the opposition. Further victories in the Irish Derby, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup followed. Although he could only finish third in the Arc he was unarguably the best horse of his generation and he went to stud the winner of eight out of eleven races. His career as a stallion lasted only four years, until his premature death.
The Troy Stakes for three-year-old colts and fillies first appeared on the Doncaster programme at 1982’s Leger meeting. It became a Listed race for older horses as well, but disappeared after only two runners competed for it in 2005.
Ascot staged a Troy Asset Management Handicap from 2013-17 and in 2021, but these honoured a sponsor rather than a great horse.