Slipofthepen the favourite in the Heron Stakes

Sandown, Tuesday 16 May: A taste of the forthcoming Dante Festival at York is on offer at Sandown today, where the List-class Heron Stakes (3rd race/19.45pm/40,000 pounds/1609m) is the centrepiece of the six races.

In the four-strong field, the John and Thady Gosden-trained Slipofthepen (James Doyle) stands out. The three-year-old is owned by English royalty and has yet to lose a race in his two-start career. Both of his wins came on the sand track at Kempton. Expectations are also high for Ralph Beckett`s Grey`s Monument (Hector Crouch), who is now finding it easier after his eighth place in the Greenham Stakes (Group 3). Finn`s Charm (Joe Fanning) is also claiming victory. His recent, highly superior triumph at Musselburgh against, among others, Captain Winters (Neil Callan), who followed clearly back in fourth, speaks for him.