The Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes runs today at 16:05 at York. Eight runners. £102,078 to the winner. The Group 2 Derby trial — the race that eleven times has produced the Epsom Derby winner. Today's result will either confirm Benvenuto Cellini's Derby dominance or produce his principal Epsom challenger. Here is the complete preview.
Christmas Day — The Market Leader
Christmas Day is the current favourite. Having won the Ballysax Stakes — an Irish Derby trial — last time out, he looks the pick of the Aidan O'Brien runners. O'Brien hasn't won the Dante Stakes since 2010, when Cape Blanco followed up Black Bear Island's win the previous year.
Timeform: "Christmas Day beat the subsequent Leopardstown Derby Trial 1-2-3 when completing the hat-trick in the Ballysax there on return last month and the son of Camelot can cement himself as a live Derby contender." He is a son of Camelot — himself a 2000 Guineas and Derby winner for O'Brien. The sire profile is directly relevant to the Derby trip.
One caveat: Wayne Lordan rather than Ryan Moore rides. Moore is on King's Trail, the Godolphin representative ridden by Buick last season. Lordan rode True Love to win the 1000 Guineas — he is a top-class jockey. But Moore's decision to take King's Trail over Christmas Day is a signal worth noting.
Morshdi — Haggas's Dante Hope
Morshdi impressed when winning the Feilden at Newmarket and hails from a yard that won the Lingfield Derby Trial on Saturday. William Haggas won the Dante in 2024 with Economics, who did not go on to win the Derby but ran creditably at Epsom. A yard with a recent Dante winner and a Saturday Derby Trial winner arriving at York with a fit, well-prepared horse is among the most credible threats to Christmas Day.
King's Trail — The Buick Angle
William Buick has opted to ride King's Trail, who'll step up in trip following a ninth-place finish in the 2000 Guineas. When Buick chooses one horse over another in the same race, the choice carries Godolphin's internal assessment. King's Trail's Guineas run — ninth — needs to be treated as an under-performance over a trip that did not suit rather than a true form guide. The Dante's mile and a quarter suits better.
Item — The Unbeaten Dark Horse
Andrew Balding hands a seasonal bow to Item after two victories at a lower grade. Colin Keane rides Item today — the same jockey who won the Musidora yesterday on Legacy Link. An unbeaten Balding runner on a seasonal reappearance, ridden by a jockey whose eye for a Classic horse has been demonstrated already this week, is worth respecting at a bigger price.
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Facts verified via web search May 14 2026.