Final day of York Dante Festival

3 of the best racecourses in Britain stage racing this afternoon, Newbury, Newmarket and York, but pride of place clearly goes to York and the final day of the Dante Meeting, with the Yorkshire Cup over 1 3/4 miles at 16.15 as the main feature. Even with only 6 runners this looks competitive, and the smart stayer Brown Panther (Tom Dascombe/ Richard Kinsgcote), winner of the Irish St. Leger last year and this year of the Dubai Gold Cup, will have a tough task in conceding 5 lbs and more all round. Havana Beat (Andrew Balding/ David Probert) finished fourth in Dubai. but will be much closer on these terms, but the two most dangerous opponents are Romsdal (John Gosden/ William Buick) and Snow Sky (Sir Michael Stoute/ Ryan Moore), 2nd and 3rd in the Doncaster St. Leger last year. Snow Sky has not run since finishing well behind ín the Breeders Cup, but Romsdal has already shown good form this year, and with the Gosden stable in such good form at this meeting, is the logical selection.

Gosden also has good prospects of taking the listed fillies mile race half an hour hour later, where both his runners Sperry (James Doyle) and Yasmeem (Paul Hanagan) have chances. Both won well last time, but while Sperry´s success was in a better race, we just prefer Yasmeem, who won a Newbury maiden in very promising style. The Queen´s Pack Together (Richard Hannon/ Ryan Moore) looks next best.

As always, the handicaps look extremely difficult, but last year´s winner Dusky Queen (Richard Fahey/ Sammy Bell) can possibly follow up under top weight in the 7 furlongs fillies race at 17.50, while the same trainers´s Duke of Clarence (Hanagan) can go close again in the 1 1/2 milke handicap at 15.40, in which he was runner-up last year. Several of the fancied runners here are unproven at the distance, while we know that he stays well and he ran well enough last time in the Chester Cup over a much longer trip.