This is not our first visit here. A two-year-old with regally breeding who, although he had everything going for him as a juvenile, finished poorly in the 2000 Guineas, but recovered to win a Classic in their subsequent race.
And Aidan O'Brien will be hoping that City of Troy in the Betfred Derby achieves precisely that.
O'Brien claims not to think about the past, but even so, he must still be thinking about Auguste Rodin from a year ago.
With a whole distinct lineage, he was an entirely different kind of two-year-old. Not as precocious, but more robustly bred—by the Japanese superstar Deep Impact—having won the Futurity Trophy in October in his first year of competition over a mile in challenging conditions.
Still, he started as the favourite for the 2000 Guineas but never recovered, placing 12th out of 14 due to a lack of room coming out of the stalls.
We all know what occurred next, but O'Brien never faltered in his faith in his colt. Though it shouldn't have come as a huge surprise given that everyone believed the Derby trip would be his undoing, he showed up at Epsom and gave O'Brien his ninth victory in the blue riband.
The main distinction between the two stablemates could be that City of Troy appeared to be more suited for eight furlongs on the Rowley Mile than for twelve furlongs around Epsom.
It was somewhat puzzling that the American Triple Crown victor Justify's offspring ran such a blah race at Newmarket. However, Ballydoyle's confidence has been contagious, just like it was last year, and he must undoubtedly rate a different proposition on Saturday.