The British flat racing season is in full flow and the major meetings are coming thick and fast as the summer quickly approaches. The latest big event to come and go for another year was the Dante Festival at York, which ran for three action-packed packed days earlier this month.
Attention might already be shifting towards the upcoming Derby Festival on 3-4 June, which will play host to the next two Classics in the form of Oaks and the Derby itself, but as the dust settles on the Dante Festival, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the major talking points from the meeting.
Stradivarius pulls the strings in the Yorkshire Cup
Stadivarius might be a veteran at eight years of age, but he was the constructor of the orchestra in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup. On the hunt for a record-equalling fourth Ascot Gold Cup next month, the John & Thady Gosden-trained horse made his reappearance at York and he certainly hit the right notes.
The short-price favourite in the Betdaq horse racing betting, there were still some concerns amongst punters prior to the contest. But Stradivarius proved all his doubters wrong, staying on strongly in the closing stages of the one-mile and six furlongs race to win by a length clear of Thunderous.
Emily Upjohn excites ahead of the Oaks
The Oaks’ ante-post market was blown wide open when the Gosdens confirmed that long-time favourite Inspiral would miss out on a second Classic bid of the season, with that setback that forced the Cheveley Park Stud-owned out of the 1,000 Guineas keeping the three-year-old out of action until Royal Ascot.
But another horse from Clarehaven Stables has taken centre stage, with Emily Upjohn the Oaks’ new market leader in the horse racing betting after winning the Group 3 Musidora Stakes. It was a commanding victory as well, beating Charlie Appleby’s Life Of Dreams by over five lengths.
Desert Crown becomes the Derby favourite after Dante success
The Oaks’ market isn’t the only one that was blown wide open though, as Aidan O’Brien has confirmed that Luxembourg will miss the Derby after picking up a muscular injury following a third-place finish in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this month.
His Ballydoyle stablemate Stone Age briefly held the favourite status, but not for long as Desert Crown scooped an emphatic victory in the Group 2 Dante Stakes — the feature race of the York-based meeting. That three-length victory over Royal Patronage means the three-year-old is now as short as 2/1 for the Derby.
A winner on the flat for Nicky Henderson
Nicky Henderson is a name synonymous with British jumps racing, but he does have a rare runner here and there on the flat each season as well. He certainly hasn’t had as much success though, but he still would have enjoyed Ahorsewithnoname’s five-length victory over Master Milliner in the Fidomoney Handicap.
It’s a second win on the flat this season for the horse who finished second in the Grade 2 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival back in March after she won another Handicap at Newbury last month.