Dante Stakes at York today

The Group Two Dante Stakes for 3yo´s over an extended 10 furlongs at 15.45 is the big race at York today and is usually regarded as the most reliable trial for the Epsom Derby. The Irish trainers Jim Bolger and Aidan O´Brien dominate the betting for Epsom and both have runners here - Trading Leather (Kevin Manning) and Indian Chief (Joseph O´Brien) respectively. Bolger has the hot favourite Dawn Approach and today´s runner does not look anywhere near that one in ability,. but the O´Brien runner is a different matter. Indian Chief was a promising runner-up on his only start last year and began this with a very easy win in a Leopardsrown maiden. Obviously he is up hugely in grade here, but as the stable won 4 significant Derby Trials last week, he must be taken very seriously. Another relatively unknown quantity is Godolphin´s Secret Number (Saeed bin Suroor/ Silvestre de Sousa), third last time in the UAE Derby and who looked potentially very smart when winning first time out at Kempton last season. As is well-known, Godolphin have had very few runners recently, and Saeed has so far not saddled a single winner in the U.K. this year. However he seems very confident about Secret Number, who has to go on the short list. More solid recent form is supplied by Windhoek (Mark Johnston), Greatwood (Luca Cumani/ Kieren Fallon) and Ghurair (John Gosden/ Paul Hanagan), who were separated only by inches when taking the first 3 places in a valuable sales race at the Newmarket Craven Meeting; Windhoek, who is still unbeaten, has won again since. There should be little between them again, although Greatwood is regarded as having the greater scope for improvement. He is by Manduro and from the German family of Fame and Glory, so a strong performance would be a compliment to German breeding. With so many imponderables, this is not a race to bet on unless you have a very strong opinion; we think that Indian Chief is possibly the safest option in view of the fantas tic form of the O´Brien 3yo´s.

The other Group Two at York today is the Middleton Stakes for fillies and mares over the same trip as the Dante at 15.15. The Aga Khan´ s French-trained Dalkala (Alain de Royer-Dupre/ Christopher Lemaire) is the likely favourite here., but we are not totally convinced. She raced over various distances last year, but her best performance was to win the Prix de Royallieu on very soft ground over 1 1/2 miles+. The trip is also a concern for Starscope (Gosden/ Buick), runner-up last year in the 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes - both over a mile- and Ladys First (Richard Fahey/ Paul Hanagan), fancied by the trainer, but whose best form is also over a mile. Then there is Cubanita (Ralph Beckett/ Jim Crowley), who when last seen in October won a listed race from Sajjhaa, who went on to become one of the stars of the Dubai Carnival. If that form could be taken literally the she would be a near-certainty here. She could well win, but we prefer Starscope, who is bred to get this di stance. Fahey, whose stable is in good form, also apparently likes his unraced 2yo Parbold (Tony Hamilton) in the 6 furlongs race at 17.25, and we would also not be surprised to see his handicappers Brae Hill (Jamie Spencer) and Justonefortheroad (Hanagan) run well at 16.15, although CD specialist Navajo Chief (Alan Jarvis/ Michael Murphy) looks a big threat here. Another CD specialist is Judge ´n Jury (Ron Harris/ Thomas Brown) who can repeat his 2012 victory in the 5 furlongs handicap that opens the card at 14.45.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Cheworee - Jamaican Bolt - Dinkum Diamond
2. Race: Dalkala - Starscope - Cubanita
3. Race: Indian Chief - Windhoek - Greatwood
4. Race: Fort Bastion - Two For Two - Sound Hearts
5. Race: Sound Of Guns - Morawij - Polski Max
6. Race: Humour - Tanseeb - Parbold
7. Race: Hidden Justice - Mashaari - Cape Tribulation