Not since Frankel has there been a Two Thousand Guineas (G1) contender who has attracted the same degree of fervor as that surrounding City of Troy.
Last year's European champion juvenile male carries huge expectations into his classic campaign after his unbeaten first season was illuminated by breathtaking displays in the Superlative (G2) and Dewhurst (G1) stakes.
After proving his liking for the Rowley Mile in the Dewhurst, City of Troy was labeled by part-owner Michael Tabor as "our Frankel" and the official handicapper agreed by awarding him a mark of 125, just one pound shy of Frankel in 2010.
An audacious Triple Crown bid has already been mooted for the Justify colt Aidan O'Brien hailed last year as the best 2-year-old he has ever trained.
O'Brien is the most successful trainer in Two Thousand Guineas history, although his last win came in 2019 with Magna Grecia, and it looks significant City of Troy is the only Ballydoyle runner in a race in which the stable has so often been multiply represented.
"Everything is good," he said. "We've done as much as we can with him ahead of his first run, so hopefully he runs well. We're very happy with him, and from what we've seen with sons of Justify with us, as they go further and stretch out longer they'll get better.
"We're very happy with everything he's shown us this year. The lads could be thinking about the Derby after this, but we'll see what happens in the Guineas and make a plan after that."
A field of 11 has been entered for the one-mile classic May 4 at Newmarket. In an average year, Rosallion would likely have been going into the season's first classic as a short-priced favorite after rounding off an impressive 2-year-old campaign with group 1 success in France.
The Richard Hannon-trained colt was worth more than the winning margin of a length in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (G1) at Longchamp when he fully justified the high esteem in which he has always been held.
The son of Blue Point's only flop came on soft ground at Doncaster in the Champagne Stakes (G2), and although the wet spring caused Hannon to break from the stable's normal ploy and go straight to the Guineas without a prep run, the trainer is full of hope of winning the race for a second time.
"He's in great form, I'm very happy with him and he's got a live chance," said Hannon. "He's already a group 1 winner and he's a very good horse. All of the best 2-year-old form revolves around him.
"We've been happy with him all winter and I don't see the trip as a problem as he's taken seven furlongs around Longchamp very well and ran right through the line. He loves fast ground, so after a good drying start to the week I'm hoping Newmarket continues to miss the rain."
Hannon, whose father, Richard, won the Guineas three times, has a capable second string in decisive Craven Stakes (G3) winner Haatem.
"He goes there solid as a rock. He's a fine big horse with loads of ability and he'll get the trip no problem—he's found improvement by going a mile."
The weight of history might be against Notable Speech as he makes his turf debut in the Guineas, but he has emerged as Godolphin's prime contender following three wins at Kempton since the turn of the year.
The Charlie Appleby-trained son of Dubawi has to buck some notable trends as Guineas winners who were unraced at 2 are rare—the last being Pasch in 1938—while no horse has won having raced exclusively on the all-weather before Newmarket.
"He's three from three on the all-weather and you are always going to sit on the fence slightly as to whether they can transfer that style of racing to the turf, but we're confident he can," Appleby said.
"We know from experience that Dubawi's offspring can be pretty versatile. His homework has been good and he's had a great preparation, and I'll be disappointed if he doesn't run a big race."
