James Doyle will ride Sunway, the Irish Derby runner-up, in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot this Saturday.
Last season, Sunway secured a Group One victory in the Criterium International and delivered his best performance of the year last month at the Curragh, where he finished close behind Los Angeles.
Oisin Murphy, the retained jockey for part-owner Qatar Racing, has piloted the son of Galiway in all eight of his career starts. However, since Murphy is set to ride John and Thady Gosden’s Qatar-owned Middle Earth in the same Group One event, Sunway will have a new partner.
“James Doyle is going to ride him,” confirmed trainer David Menuisier. “He won’t need any riding instructions – he knows the track well!”
Currently, Sunway is priced at 10-1 with William Hill, who recently adjusted the odds for Ralph Beckett’s exceptional filly Bluestocking from 7-1 to 5-1. Auguste Rodin is the favourite at 5-4.
Menuisier recognises that his talented colt will need to elevate his performance to compete against older horses for the first time, but is optimistic about the chances.
“He had a stretch of the legs this morning and seems A1 and in very good form. Fingers crossed, all being well between now and then, he’ll go to Ascot,” he added.
“The horse ran really well in Ireland, and we know that if you’re a good three-year-old, getting 11lb in the King George is definitely a plus. The opposition is strong, but we feel the horse is on the up, and we feel he could improve with decent ground as well, so we ought to try really hard and take it from there.”