Dante Stakes Tips: Enough Question Marks To Go Cold On Lion

The Dante Stakes is one of the premier Derby trials in British racing and often we see a star emerge on the Knavesmire who then heads to Epsom as the market leader. The Lion In Winter is already favourite for the most famous flat race of all, but Billy Grimshaw is taking him on in his dress rehearsal...

Let me get one thing straight before I begin making the case against the horse for this particular race. I believe The Lion in Winter is the most talented colt in the 2025 Dante field and will go on to have the best season of anything entered up here, barring accident or injury. He was the top two year old in both Ballydoyle and indeed across Britain and Ireland in 2024 and while he will have irritated plenty who backed him antepost for the 2000 Guineas with his no show, The Derby always looked his be all and end all for this season. This is the logical step for him to take considering Aidan O'Brien has been mopping up every other trial with horses not in his league - perhaps with the exception of Delacroix who has looked very good and will likely be favourite for the Derby if The Lion In Winter fails here barring a romp from something else that really takes the breath away.

On the bare form he has the measure of a lot of these horses, but at odds-on and with the lukewarm reports the master of Ballydoyle was giving about his star colt for the season all winter, I have to take him on. O'Brien, of course, is not shy of bigging up a Derby prospect, with many more cynical folk than this humble scribe believing he does this to enhance their stud prospects should things go awry on the track. The fact he has been so openly reticent to praise The Lion In Winter and has been at pains to warn he will not be cherry ripe, along with my slight suspicion that he could work out better over even shorter than this 10 furlongs, never mind the extended Derby trip, mean I have to take him on.

The question then is whether I take a leap of faith in a sexy profile of colt with a few runs to their name and some facile wins, such as Charlie Appleby's Alpine Trail, or one with more experience such as WIMBLEDON HAWKEYE. Of course, it's not a three horse race and there are cases to be made for those outside this top three in the betting at double figures, but I'd rather have James Owen's flat stable star on side in a race like this. He is already well into the groove of this season, finishing a good second behind the mightily impressive Craven winner Field Of Gold before a less impressive but still respectable fifth in the Guineas.

On paper it could be argued the horse went backwards from first to second start at Newmarket but what actually happened when watching the Classic back was he simply did not handle the dip as well as he had in his trial, which can happen to any horse truth be told. Putting a line through that run then, although we don't really need to as fifth in a Guineas is fine, means he is overpriced to reel The Lion In Winter in on their Acomb form here last summer over seven.

That day The Lion In Winter was much the best and never looked in danger, but it was some performance from Wimbledon Hawkeye to split him and subsequent Guineas winner Ruling Court and there was no fluke about it to my eye. York is one of the fairest tracks around and with no dip to worry about I think Owen's charge could well run a career best here now trying ten furlongs for the first time, which looks set to suit at least on breeding and on the way he finishes off his races over a mile, and with the doubts surrounding the favourite along with the potential he is being sent here at 80% as a tune up for The Derby, I am willing to chance Wimbledon Hawkeye as the bet.

Alpine Trail could well be the fly in the ointment as while he is lightly raced, he has looked very good thus far for a team who are already having a wow of a season by scooping both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He will be sent from the front one suspects by William Buick as that was how he won last time out over this distance in a listed contest and he could well be tough to peg back, but I think Wimbledon Hawkeye can do it.

Another worth watching who is very lightly raced is Tuscan Hills for Raphael Freire, who along with the majority of the field has a Derby entry and hit the line very hard both times when winning at two over a mile. He looks guaranteed to improve for this step up in distance and while it's a marked step up in class, he could be an each-way play.