Derby and Oaks trials at York's Dante Festival including Ancient Wisdom in the Dante Stakes
Our expert looks ahead to the Epsom trials at York's Dante Festival and wonders who might put themselves into the frame for the Oaks and the Derby.
Song a Classic contender in the making?
John and Thady Gosden's impressive Pretty Polly winner Friendly Soul heads the betting as the Clarehaven team seek a ninth Musidora Stakes victory - and third in a row after Emily Upjohn and Soul Sister. But she's not in the Betfred Oaks, with connections keen to stick to 10 furlongs and a crack at the Prix de Diane instead of stepping up to a mile and a half, so it’s a question of whether any of her six rivals can stick their hand up for the Epsom challenge.
Aidan O’Brien’s single Musidora winner, Snowfall, was a 14/1 shot when causing a stir on the Knavesmire in 2021 before following up in the Oaks, the Irish Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks, but what to make of his Mayfair this time around?
She’s got the pedigree of a Group 1 champion, but the form of a middle-of-the-road handicapper until now and, unlike Snowfall, we have already seen her race at three so it seems unlikely she’ll take a big step forward – not to quite the same extent anyway.
Mayfair was beaten favourite in a Dundalk maiden last month, having been beaten favourite in a Curragh maiden in March, although they’ve both come over seven furlongs and the step up in distance promises to bring about more progress.
Either way, the obvious possible improver has to be Ralph Beckett’s Classical Song, who was fourth to now clear Oaks favourite Ylang Ylang in the Fillies’ Mile when last seen (reported to have bled from the nose) at Newmarket and comes from a yard that has already won a Epsom trials thanks to Forest Fairy in the Cheshire Oaks and You Got To Me at Lingfield over the weekend.
She’s closely related to a bunch of smart winners and is a half-sister to Dylan Mouth, who was successful over a mile and three-quarters, so this sort of test should be well within her compass and connections clearly expect big things over even further too as she's in the Oaks, the Ribblesdale and the Irish Oaks.
The Beckett yard looks to be hitting top gear and she has to be considered more of a threat to Friendly Soul than Charlie Johnston's Francophone, who has a lot more on her plate than when overcoming trouble to win a fillies’ handicap over a mile at Southwell last month.
Al Musmak may give Dante fav most to think about
The Betfred Derby looked all but sewn up according to the market heading into the winter but that’s very rarely the case in reality and the cards have been shuffled for five or six weeks now. It’s just so unfortunate that the real ace among them – based on this year’s evidence at least – was possibly the ill-fated Chester Vase winner Hidden Law.
His trainer Charlie Appleby did also win the bet365 Classic Trial with Arabian Crown at Sandown last month, though, and has waited until now to unleash Ancient Wisdom, last season’s Futurity Stakes winner. Ancient Wisdom has a distinct class edge over his rivals at York and won’t mind the forecast rain, being a son of Dubawi and already a winner on ground ranging from good to firm, to heavy.
At 2,000,000 euros, one could argue he’s still got some way to go to live up to his lofty reputation, but he couldn’t have done much more as a two-year-old on reflection, the sole defeat coming when third to the relatively speedy Rosallion - runner-up in the 2000 Guineas this spring - in a Listed race at Ascot last July.
Runner-up that day was Al Musmak and, with Roger Varian already on the Classic scene with 1000 Guineas heroine Elmalka, he shouldn’t be underestimated having been a good second to French Derby-bound Ghostwriter in the Royal Lodge when last in action.
Al Musmak, a son of Night Of Thunder, won his debut at Ascot when there was plenty of ease underfoot (Timeform called of soft) and his form ties in quite favourably with the aforementioned Arabian Crown too, having beaten the recent Sandown second Macduff by a length and a half in a Listed race at Haydock in the autumn.
Arabian Crown beat him by a wider margin but only a length or so more and Al Musmak is another bred to be more three-year-old that razor-sharp juvenile. He’ll have to improve 10lb to come up to Ancient Wisdom’s level but it would hardly be a shock to see their relatively abilities converge at some stage in the season.
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