Royal runner Reach For The Moon to miss Derby

The Queen’s colt will be aimed at Royal Ascot.

John and Thady Gosden have run out of time to prepare the Queen’s Reach For The Moon for the Cazoo Derby and he will instead be aimed at Royal Ascot.

High in the ante-post lists for the Classic after winning the Solario Stakes at Sandown in August, he went on to finish second to Bayside Boy in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

A setback prevented him from running again as a juvenile and the Gosdens have faced a race against the clock to get him ready for a trial, with York’s Dante Stakes the preferred option.

However, it has now been decided that the Group Two will come too soon for him and as a result connections have decided to aim for Royal Ascot instead.

For the Queen to have a runner in the Classic in her Platinum Jubilee year with a genuine chance had been seen as a major boost for the race, but unfortunately those dreams have been dashed.

As a result of his absence Coral cut Aidan O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas third Luxembourg into 9-4 favouritism from 5-2.

The Queen’s racing manager John Warren said: “We will look forward to Ascot.”

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