Prince of Wales’s Stakes an option for White Birch

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot could be “high on the agenda” for White Birch after he narrowly failed to defend his Tattersalls Gold Cup crown at the Curragh on Sunday.

Having fought out a thriller with Los Angeles when beaten a neck on his return to action earlier this month, John Joseph Murphy’s five-year-old had to settle for fourth behind Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner this time around after a less than smooth passage through the high-class Group One event.

Beaten under two lengths, many deemed the son of Ulysees an unlucky loser, with connections happy with both White Birch’s performance and well-being in the aftermath.

“He’s come out of the race very well and was fresh yesterday morning, we’re very pleased with how he is,” said George Murphy, assistant to his father.

“He ran a super race and things didn’t just work out on the day, but that happens sometimes. We were pleased with how he turned up and performed.”

White Birch had thrived in the early part of 2024 before injury kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the year and having started the new campaign in a similar vein, connections could be tempted to head to Royal Ascot for an opportunity he was denied 12 months ago.

Murphy added: “I’d imagine we’ll head to Royal Ascot now, we’ll chat to the owners throughout the week and make a bit of a plan, but I would imagine the Prince of Wales’s Stakes would be high on the agenda now.

“But there are plenty of options and he could maybe go straight for the Coral-Eclipse or something like that, so we won’t make any definitive plan today and leave things fluid for the moment.”