Following the Chester Vase and Dee Stakes at Chester last week, and the Lingfield and Leopardstown Derby Trials at the weekend, the next step on the road to Epsom comes at York. Taking top billing on Day 2 of the three-day Dante festival, the meeting’s titular event is widely regarded as the premier domestic Derby trial.
First run in 1958 and held over 1m2½f of the Knavesmire track, the Group 2 Dante Stakes has been won by 11 horses who subsequently claimed the Epsom Classic. Focusing on the 21st-century, North Light (2004), Motivator (2005), Authorized (2007), Golden Horn (2015), and Desert Crown all completed the Dante/Epsom Derby double.
With the final field confirmed, the big guns are out in force for the 2026 edition, with Aidan O’Brien, Charlie Appleby, John & Thady Gosden, Andrew Balding, and William Haggas all represented in the eight-runner field.
With only two winning favourites in the past decade and no winner priced at shorter than 3-1, the Dante Stakes has been an open event in recent times. That trend looks set to continue in 2026, with the Aidan O’Brien number one heading the market, but only just.
O’Brien to Add to Trials Haul
Having claimed the Cheshire Oaks, Chester Vase, Dee Stakes, and Lingfield Oaks Trial. Aidan O’Brien is already enjoying a productive May on the trials front. With four Dante Stakes wins, he is also tied with John Gosden as the most successful trainer among those represented this year. However, the most recent of those victories came back in 2010, which represents something of a barren spell by O’Brien’s lofty standards. The fact that none of his four winners followed up at Epsom also suggests that this is not the trial O’Brien traditionally uses for his main Derby contender.
Nevertheless, horses a couple of rungs down the Ballydoyle ladder are often a match for the cream of the crop from other yards. The two members of the Coolmore squad called into action for this assignment are Christmas Day and Action.
Of that duo, the market suggests that Christmas Day is most likely to deliver O’Brien a fifth Dante success. Sired by Camelot and out of a Sea The Stars mare, this colt has Derby-winning blood coursing through both sides of his pedigree. So far, he has largely delivered on that breeding potential.
Rounding off his juvenile season with success in the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown, he added a second Group 3 to his haul in the often-informative Ballysax Stakes on his seasonal return. With better-fancied stablemates Pierre Bonnard, Italy, and Endorsement all in behind, that win appears to have moved Christmas Day up the Ballydoyle pecking order. Stepping into Group 2 company for the first time, he looks set to make a bold bid.
O’Brien’s second string, Action, arguably brings the strongest piece of form to the table, having finished a close second in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes last season, with impressive Chester Vase winner Benvenuto Cellini back in third. However, he was nowhere near that level when finishing a 6½-length fourth in the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown. While it is too soon to write him off, that effort leaves the Frankel colt with a question to answer.
High Hopes for Haggas Challenger
While not on the same scale as O’Brien, William Haggas has also tasted Derby trials success in 2026, with Maltese Cross producing a gutsy effort to claim the Lingfield Derby Trial. Less than a week after that win, the Haggas-trained Morshdi is viewed as the main threat to O’Brien in the Dante Stakes.
Having started training in 1987, Haggas surprisingly waited 37 years for Economics to provide him with a first Dante triumph in 2024. Given that long wait, success for Morshdi would represent a rapid-fire double for the Newmarket handler.
Initially scheduled to take his place in the Dee Stakes line-up, this son of Dubawi was withdrawn from that Chester contest on account of the ground. With Plan A scrapped, he heads a little further north in his bid to follow up his shock 14/1 win in the Listed Feilden Stakes at Newmarket. Well supported in the early market, success would likely see him join Maltese Cross in the Haggas Derby team.
Exciting Item the Best of the Rest
Whilst Christmas Day, Action, and Morshdi all boast solid form claims, all three have suffered defeat at least once at the track. Of the eight runners on show, the only colt who remains undefeated is the Andrew Balding representative, Item. By Frankel and out of a mare who scored at the highest level in the US, this Juddmonte runner boasts stacks of appeal on paper. Two from two in his juvenile season, he is pitched straight into Group 2 company on his seasonal return and rates an intriguing contender.
The yards of Charlie Appleby and John & Thady Gosden round out the field with two runners each. Without a win in the first 11 days of May, Appleby will hope that King’s Trail of Al Zanati can bring the losing run to an end. The Gosdens rely on Wise Prince and Guildmaster, who both finished third on their seasonal return.
A fascinating contest to light up the midweek racing programme. We will find out who will come out on top at 4:05pm on Thursday.