Japanese star Forever Young now highly unlikely to run in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot

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Japanese star Forever Young is unlikely to contest next month's Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, trainer Yoshito Yahagi has announced.

The multiple Group 1 winner was a surprise name among the plethora of Japanese horses entered for the royal meeting but he will no longer take up the challenge having returned to Northern Farm Hayakita in Hokkaido.

Forever Young had been under consideration for a summer campaign in Europe, with connections previously outlining plans which could have included the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September before a tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

An alternative programme in the United States had also been discussed, featuring the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park before the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland.

Yahagi said: "We've started receiving offers from various racecourses, and we'll consider all the options available to us."

Yoshito Yahagi: trainer of Forever YoungCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Forever Young has won ten of his 14 starts, including four at Group 1 level, but he was beaten by Magnitude on his last start when odds-on favourite for the Dubai World Cup in March. 

The five-year-old is set to retire at the end of the year and a run at Royal Ascot, for which he was priced at 7-1, would have seen Forever Young race on turf for the first time.

Despite Yagahi expressing interest on behalf of Forever Young's owner Susuma Fujita last month, the switch to grass now appears increasingly unlikely, with an American dirt campaign seemingly holding greater appeal.

This withdrawal followed news earlier in the week that Ascot had lost another international challenger after star Australian sprinter Lady Of Camelot was ruled out of the King Charles III Stakes after a stingray attack.

That said, the Prince of Wales's Stakes is not without international interest. Yahagi also has Shin Emperor entered, while there are another six Japanese-trained entries across Royal Ascot's Group 1 contests.

Prince of Wales's Stakes (4.20 Ascot, June 17)
Coral: 7-4 Daryz, 3-1 Ombudsman, 5 Minnie Hauk, 8 Calandagan, 10 Damysus, 12 Almaqam, Sosie, Kalpana, 16 bar. 

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