Maranoa Charlie on course for Foret challenge Maranoa Charlie impressed in the Sky Bet City of York Stakes and is now being aimed at the Prix de la Foret for his next outing. Maranoa Charlie to contest Prix de la Foret after strong York run The Wootton Bassett colt, trained in Chantilly by Christopher Head, made his first trip across the Channel to contest the seven-furlong Group One under French rider Aurelien Lemaitre. He was a 9-1 chance among a field of 10 and ran a fine race to come home just three-quarters of a length behind the winner on his second start for new owners Bond Thoroughbreds. “He ran a very good race, I was really happy with the performance of the horse,” said Head. “We tried a new strategy this time, we were waiting with him a little bit and it was really worth it. “He showed a real change of speed at the end of the race, he was very resilient and I was very happy with him. “He’s come out of the race very well and he didn’t even lose that much weight, which is fantastic because now we know he’s capable of taking all the travelling.” Plans for the rest of the season and next year Head confirmed that Maranoa Charlie will target the Prix de la Foret for his next race, which may also mark the end of his season. **“I need to discuss it with his owner, of course, but we’re going to concentrate on a nice programme for next season with lots of travelling because he looks like he can handle it. “He’s going to be very interesting for all the big mile races next season.”**
