Map Of Stars Found His Best Version and Gave France a Historic Wolferton Stakes

The Francis-Henri Graffard trainee defeated Wimbledon Hawkeye with authority to become the first French-trained winner of the Royal Ascot event

BERKSHIRE, England (Special for Turf Diario).– While the sport's biggest stars monopolized the spotlight in the Group 1 events on Royal Ascot's opening day, French challenger Map Of Stars took perfect advantage of a drop in class to find his way back to the winner's circle and write a small piece of history in the Wolferton Stakes (L).

Trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and sporting blinkers for the first time, the son of Sea The Stars unleashed a powerful late surge under Australian rider James McDonald to defeat Wimbledon Hawkeye (Kameko) by half a length, with Dividend (Kodiac) finishing third.

The victory carried a special significance, as it made Map Of Stars the first French-trained horse to capture this event since its introduction to the Royal Ascot program.

Runner-up in the Prix Ganay (G1) last season, he had finished fourth here a year ago behind Ombudsman (Night of Thunder) in the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1).

"When he is relaxed, he is a horse with an extraordinary turn of foot," Graffard explained. "He has disappointed us a few times, but when he has one of his good days, he proves he is a horse of immense quality."

The French trainer even revealed that he had suggested running in a lesser race back in France to restore the horse's confidence, though Wathnan Racing's ambition ultimately prevailed.

"I told them I had a nice Listed race in the center of France to get him back into the winner's circle, but they replied that there was absolutely no chance and that we were coming to Ascot. I guess they were right," he commented with a laugh.

The key lay in the ride by McDonald, who followed the instructions received to the letter.

Map Of Stars traveled completely relaxed at the back of the pack and was only launched in the final straight, responding with a devastating change of pace that allowed him to master Wimbledon Hawkeye in the closing yards.

"He is a horse that you have to let do what he wants," Graffard explained. "If you try to force anything on him, he gets annoyed and loses his acceleration. James did exactly what we had planned."

For McDonald, one of the leading figures in global racing, the triumph had a special flavor: "He is a horse of tremendous quality. At first, he was almost asleep, but when I asked him to quicken, he responded spectacularly," the New Zealander noted. "He gave me an extraordinary feeling."

The jockey also highlighted the impact of the headgear, a suggestion that came from James Doyle, retained rider for Wathnan Racing: "James told me to try the blinkers, and he really seemed like a different horse," he commented.

From the powerful Wathnan Racing operation, the success was received with relief: "This is huge for us because it's our first winner of the meeting," acknowledged Richard Brown, the organization's racing manager. "Now we can breathe a bit easier."

Behind the winner, Wimbledon Hawkeye confirmed his return to form with a high-level performance for trainer James Owen, who for a good part of the straight dreamed of securing his first Royal Ascot victory.

"For a moment, I thought we had it," Owen admitted. "But we were beaten by a very good horse. We are delighted with the performance."

Meanwhile, for Map Of Stars, the victory represents much more than a Listed success. After several frustrating performances against the European elite, the horse reminded everyone why he was once considered one of the finest elements of his generation and confirmed that, when things go his way, he remains a highly dangerous competitor.