English/Ire
Royal Ascot - Day 2 - Map Of Stars out to make his mark
Map Of Stars will be hoping to provide France with their first Royal Ascot success of 2025 when he takes on the likes of Los Angeles and Anmaat in a mouthwatering Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.
The son of Sea The Stars, who is a general 9/2 chance to get the better of the Tattersalls Gold Cup one-two Los Angeles and Anmaat, will be reunited with jockey James Doyle after the Wathnan Racing retained rider was forced to miss the ride when he finished a neck behind the subsequent Group 1 winner Sosie in the Prix Ganay last time out.
A winner of the Prix Exbury and Prix d'Harcourt earlier in the season, Map Of Stars heads to Ascot with an unexposed profile, leaving jockey James Doyle confident he can serve it up to his rivals in Berkshire.
He said: ““He’s had a nice campaign so far. I thought he was unlucky not to win the Ganay, things just got a bit tricky off the false straight there, one kicked for home early, which put him in a bit of a pocket. Once he did get out into clear room, he ran home very well to be narrowly denied by Sosie, who obviously came out and won the Prix d'Ispahan, so that was a nice form boost for him.
“He’s still quite lightly raced, and he should still keep improving. The Prince Of Wales’s will be his fourth start this year, so you’d like to think a big horse like him should be peaking at around this time of time.
“He’ll need to be peaking. It looks to be a very good race with the likes of Los Angeles and Anmaat coming from the Tattersalls Gold Cup. It will be a tough race but he’s a horse who I really like and I’m excited by what he could do at Royal Ascot and beyond.”
Trained in France by Francis-Henri Graffard, who is no stranger to Royal Ascot success in recent years having saddled Calandagan to victory in the King Edward VII Stakes twelve months ago, Map Of Stars will attempt to continue the good run of form from the Chantilly-based handler following his success in the Prix de Diane last weekend.
Graffard said: “He’s very good and been in very good form. I’m looking forward to the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.”
The unexposed four-year-old will sport the colours of Wathnan Racing, whose racing advisor Richard Brown added: "He's a colt we've held in high regard the whole way along and both times he has been beaten it has probably been through no fault of his own.
"He will probably go on the ground and James said he won the Prix Harcourt it was pretty quick that day and he showed a good turn of foot and that's what we hope we'll see again.
"The Sosie form from the Ganay looks red-hot and he has since come out and won the Prix d'Ispahan and is one of the favourites for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. It's high-level form, but he will need to improve again to win a Prince of Wales's."
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