Roi Mage, last seen by British racegoers finishing a 25l ninth to I Am Maximus in the Grand National in April scored in splendid style at Craon today under a front-running ride from James Reveley in the 6,000m (3m6f) Listed Grand Cross de Craon.

Two time winner of this race, Bomari, made the early running before falling at the 12^th, leaving the handily ridden Roi Mage in front. In an incident-packed race where 4 of the 10 runners either tipped up or parted company with their rider, Reveley’s position in the front was the safest, and he was able to dictate the pace, and asset again when contenders made an effort to close. The winning distance of 7l belied his authority.

“There were two in the race to be afraid of,” reported trainer’s son James Griffin, who has masterminded Roi Mage’s return to France to race. “Once they were out of it, I was confident we weren’t going to be beaten. We were unlucky at Corlay 6 weeks ago.” Roi Mage will now seek to repeat his victory at Compiegne in November before being aimed at the Irish National on Easter Monday.

This second leg of the 2024-25 Crystal Cup throws down a challenge to French trainers who have tended to dominate in this unique pan-European Challenge. After years of their dominance, their grip was broken by the Czech stable of Josef Vana Jnr last season, and Vana has already displayed his intent to continue where he left off, with a third placed effort at Waregem last week. Griffin’s contribution pushes him to the top of a leaderboard that is validated only when a horse/trainer runs twice or more outside his own country. The leading owner in the challenge is awarded €25,000, the winning trainer €10,000 in addition to the generous prize money on offer in each race.

The Challenge now moves to Merano on September 29^th.