Our form expert has three selections for Wednesday's ITV Racing at York for day one of the Dante Festival.
The Verdict: Wednesday May 13
1pt win Russet Gold in the 14:55 York at 14/1 (General)
1pt win Moments Of Joy in the 16:05 York at 11/2 (General)
0.5pts e.w Cotai Lights in the 16.40 York at 33/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
Savour the Moments in Musidora
The gates open at York for the first meeting of the season on day one of the Dante Festival on Wednesday and after a dry spring fast ground looked a given, but forecast overnight showers could take the sting out of conditions.
As Epsom trials season comes towards its conclusion the Group 3 Tattersalls Musidora Stakes over the extended 10 furlongs is one of the last chances for the fillies to put forward their Classic claims, this race having thrown up two winners and two seconds of the Oaks in the last five years.
John & Thady Gosden and Aidan O’Brien were responsible for all of that quartet and they clash again here with Legacy Link and MOMENTS OF JOY who looks the bet for the Ballydoyle outfit.
The pair finished fourth and fifth behind Precise in the Fillies’ Mile with the Gosden filly edging it, but there wasn’t much between them that day and both should enjoy going out in trip this season.
Given Moments Of Joy is a much bigger price and has already had a run, she looks the one to be on under Ryan Moore, who won this race in recent years for O’Brien aboard Snowfall and Whirl.
Moments Of Joy is a Justify filly who is out of a Galileo mare and from a middle-distance family, so all the experience she has racked up over seven furlongs and a mile simply looks a pre-cursor to her middle-distance career.
She had some good form at two, as well, notably in the Chesham at Royal Ascot behind Humidity on her second start where she was third, while her comeback race could hardly have worked out any better (the two fillies who finished directly ahead of her, Catalina Delcarpio and Cameo, both won at the weekend).
Plenty of signals are pointing towards significant improvement here, then, and with the O’Brien team steamrolling along through trials season she’s taken to land another one for the flying yard.
The Verdict: Back MOMENTS OF JOY in the 16:05 York
Ryan to strike Gold in sprint
The Group 2 Go Local Stores Minster Stakes looks open and the handicaps are very tricky, but I do want to be with Kevin Ryan’s RUSSET GOLD in the Churchill Tyres Handicap over six furlongs.
He is well handicapped for his new yard and looked the horse to take from the Leicester race where he was fifth on stable debut with several from that race reopposing here.
The six-year-old looked a bit fresh on his first start for 204 days and probably did a bit too much, but he was hampered at a key point in the contest late on and wasn’t beaten far while finishing with running left.
Down another pound to 90, he started last season rated 105 and the likelihood is he’s going to take advantage of his falling mark soon.
I don’t mind his far side draw from stall one with pace around him and Ryan has won this race twice in the last three years, so this has probably been his target since he arrived at Hambleton.
The Verdict: Back RUSSET GOLD in the 14:55 York
Knock the Lights out with SDS
Finally, Adrian Keatley’s COTAI LIGHTS looks worth a small each-way bet in the Conundrum HR Consulting Handicap over seven furlongs.
Keatley has had three winners at this meeting from just 13 runners and this son of Cotai Glory (you guessed it) looks overpriced at 33/1.
He ran a belter on his first go over seven furlongs behind subsequent winner Causeway in the Madrid Handicap at Naas in March and then he didn’t enjoy the drop to six furlongs at Newcastle on all-weather finals day.
Last time at Newmarket he was back at seven and he looked much more comfortable, beaten less than two lengths in fourth behind Velvet Rhythm after shaping like the second-best horse in the race.
That was a good run and with Silvestre De Sousa booked from stall one he can run well again from a prominent position.
The Verdict: Back COTAI LIGHTS in the 16:40 York
Preview posted at 16:00 BST on 12/05/26
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