The Revenant stays at home – for now

Graffard star to miss Lockinge but will have Queen Anne entry.

The combination of likely fast ground and travel complications mean The Revenant will run closer to home rather than go to Newbury for the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes.

Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard, The Revenant won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day in October – having finished second to King Of Change in the corresponding race 12 months earlier.

A real mud lover, the six-year-old is now likely to run at Saint-Cloud on Saturday in the Prix du Muguet.

The Revenant was third on his comeback at Saint-Cloud in a Group Three this month, and Graffard has indicated he will have a Royal Ascot entry.

He said: “Everything is fine with the horse – it is just at the moment the ground is pretty dry everywhere, and it is so complicated to travel for the staff and the jockey

“We have everything against us, so I think we will just stay at home and run on Saturday in the Prix du Muguet.

“He will have an entry in the Queen Anne, but it will depend on things. We know he is very competitive in the autumn. We could save him until then – but on the other hand he is a gelding with very few miles on the clock, so he can run again.

“He will have an entry for (Royal) Ascot, but for the Lockinge it was just too hard to organise everything.”

Another star in Graffard’s stable is last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up In Swoop, who also finished second on his comeback at ParisLongchamp recently.

“I was pleased with that run, because he’s a big horse and he needed the run,” said Graffard.

“He’ll come on for that and he’s going to run in a Group Three at Deauville in a few weeks.

“He’s entered in the Coronation Cup, so we’ll see how he is before that. Hopefully (Grand Prix de) Saint-Cloud can be a target for him this summer (July 4).

“He doesn’t need soft ground – he can go on any ground.”

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