Three fabulous days of action takes place at York this week with the Dante Festival taking place between Wednesday 14th and Friday 16th May. Classic clues aplenty will be available in the Dante Stakes and Musidora Stakes, while the likes of the Duke Of York Stakes and Yorkshire Cup will provide more top notch Group action. Here at GG, we take a look at the week ahead and pick out our 2 To Back and 2 To Lay during the Flat festival.
BACK – Inisherin in the 3.13 @ York on Wednesday – Duke Of York Stakes
A runaway two-and-a-quarter length winner of the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last season, INISHERIN can kick off his season with a win in the Group 2 Duke Of York Stakes at 3:13pm on Wednesday afternoon. Kevin Ryan’s star disappointed in the second half of the season when beaten at Newmarket and Haydock, but he’s shown he can produce the goods in the first half of the season and he can prove to be a cut above his rivals in this event.
The likes of Elite Status, Night Raider and Flora Of Bermuda are notable rivals, but none of that triumvirate have shown the class Inisherin has on his day, and the Ryan raider can use this race as a springboard to a possible tilt at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at the Royal meeting next month.
LAY – See The Fire in the 3.13 @ York on Thursday – Middleton Fillies’ Stakes
Andrew Balding’s SEE THE FIRE was sent off favourite for the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown on her comeback run last month, but she could only finish fourth and a repeat of that effort here would see her struggle in the Middleton Fillies’ Stakes at 3:13pm on Thursday afternoon. She has winning form at York having won the Strensall Stakes last season, but she’s two wins from 11 career starts, so she certainly is a solid win proposition.
She will face some lively rivals in this event with the likes of Beautiful Love looking to build on a decent third placed finish at Newmarket last time out, while the Owen Burrows-trained Nakheel ended last season with a Group 2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster and is open to more improvement this campaign. So, it’s worth taking a chance on See The Fire fluffing her lines again in what is an intriguing encounter.
BACK – The Lion In Winter in the 3.45 @ York on Thursday – Dante Stakes
Aidan O’Brien last trained the Dante Stakes winner way back in 2010, but the master of Ballydoyle can return to the roll of honour on Thursday afternoon at 3:45pm as THE LION IN WINTER can storm to victory in the Derby trial. A race synonymous with throwing up leading contenders for the Epsom Classic, this year’s renewal looks a crackerjack contest and current ante-post favourite for the Derby The Lion In Winter can land the prize for the O’Brien team.
Making his second visit to York on only his third career run, the unbeaten Sea The Stars was last seen visiting the Knavesmire at last summer’s Ebor Festival and he duly beat Wimbledon Hawkeye and subsequent 2000 Guineas winner Ruling Court in the Acomb Stakes. Sure to improve for the step up in trip from 7f, the exciting three-year-old can maintain his 100% record and solidify his place at the top of the Derby betting.
LAY – Sweet William in the 3.45 @ York on Friday – Yorkshire Cup
Second in the 2023 Ebor Handicap, SWEET WILLIAM has since become a leading contender in the top level Group races and the John & Thady Gosden-trained six-year-old showed his class when landing the Doncaster Cup last season. Set to make his seasonal reappearance in the Yorkshire Cup on Friday afternoon, the Normandie Stud-owned raider could find this is a struggle as he takes on some speedier rivals.
His big race wins have generally come over 2m+ distances, so Friday’s 1m 5f 188y distance could be a little bit on the short side, as he could find himself in behind and struggling to quicken up. The likes of Rebel’s Romance and Continuous have both got smart form in the book and they could well down the Gosden raider, who could be seen in a better light in the Gold Cup at Ascot next month.
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