Eclipse possibility for Royal Ascot absentee White Birch

Chris Phillips
June 17, 2024 11:57 am

Grey misses Prince of Wales’s Stakes after imperfect blood test.

White Birch could be headed for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and a clash with City Of Troy after a setback saw him withdrawn from the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The four-year-old John Joseph Murphy-trained grey was all set for a mouthwatering rematch with Auguste Rodin on Wednesday before connections were forced to skip the big meeting and look elsewhere.

The son of Ulysses, third behind Auguste Rodin in last year’s Derby, beat Aidan O’Brien’s charge by three lengths in the Tattersalls Gold Cup over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh for his first success at Group One level.

White Birch is mightily impressive to beat Auguste Rodin in the Tattersalls Gold Cup under an excellent ride from Colin Keane for the John Joseph Murphy stable! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/IY0Wjv4VPl
— The Curragh Racecourse (@curraghrace) May 26, 2024

But now a trip to Sandown on July 6 is potentially on the cards, with another option being a step up in trip to a mile and a half for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on June 30.

George Murphy, son of the trainer, told the PA news agency: “We had a blood result come back yesterday and it wasn’t perfect so we said we’d leave the trip.

“We’ll have to have a chat with the owners now before we decide where to go.

“He’s in the Eclipse and he’s in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at the end of the month, so it’s probably one of the two of those.

“The ground (at Royal Ascot) wasn’t a concern for us.”