Victorian apprentice Michael Poy has finished a close second in an apprentices' only race at Chantilly in France.

Riding in front of a crowd of 40,000 attending the Group One Prix De Diane on Sunday, Poy was beaten a head in the Longines Prix Futures Stars race over 1600m.

His second placing was the most successful outcome for a Victorian apprentice in the race and comes at a time when Poy is yet to ride on the metropolitan circuit in Melbourne.

A son of former champion jockey Michael Clarke, Poy only started riding in October last year.

"Considering he's not yet even ridden at a Sandown midweek meeting in Victoria, Michael was not overwhelmed by the occasion and conducted himself in a very professional manner," Racing Victoria's Athlete and Careers development manager Melissa Weatherley said.

"To ride out for (trainer) Nicolas Clement in the Chantilly training grounds and sit in the jockey rooms with the likes of Frankie Dettori, Jamie Spencer and Christophe Soumillon, has been a life changing experience for him."

Poy had his parents at Chantilly to watch him ride in the race won by Moroccan female representative Zineb El Briouil.