Irish contenders in the Dante The Dante at York on Thursday is Britain's richest Derby Trial and a field of 11 contenders have been declared for the Knavesmire's early season showpiece. The Lion In Winter headlines an intriguing field of 11 for the Group 2, a race expected to have a big impact on the betting for next month's Betfred Derby at Epsom. Aidan O'Brien's unbeaten son of Sea The Stars will be the sole Irish-trained contender in the Dante at York. Dante Odds Dante Betting Offer Excited for the PGA Championship? Check out our new guide to the best golf betting sites. Irish wait stands at 15 years O'Brien is the most recent Irish trainer to win the Dante, the Ballydoyle handler having landed his fourth success in the race with Cape Blanco in 2010. At that time, it was a third win for the trainer in five years, following on from Septimus (2006) and Black Bear Island (2009). In the intervening years, O'Brien has tended not to send his biggest stars to York, with other stops preferred en route to Epsom. Last year, 10/1 chance Cambridge was fourth at York before running in a Royal Ascot handicap off 100 and then departing for France. Continuous was the lone Ballydoyle runner in 2023, finishing third, before he returned to win the Great Voltigeur in August and Doncaster's St Leger later that season. Desert Crown is the most recent of 11 Dante winners to go on and win the Epsom Derby, doing so in 2022 when O'Brien's Bluegrass was back in third. Typically in recent times, O'Brien is the only Irish trainer to target this contest and that has held true again now. White Birch, for John Murphy, finished second behind The Foxes in 2023 and is the only non-Ballydoyle runner to contest this race since 2021. British challengers aiming to tame The Lion Unbeaten in two starts as a juvenile, The Lion In Winter has not been seen since winning the Acomb Stakes here at York last August, beating Wimbledon Hawkeye and this month's Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner Ruling Court. Wimbledon Hawkeye, fifth in that Rowley Mile Classic 12 days ago, will have another crack at The Lion In Winter now. Godolphin have enjoyed a fine month of May already, winning both Guineas's at Newmarket as well as the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Alpine Trail is a fascinating contender for the boys in blue. Unraced at two, he's won both starts this season, including the Newmarket Stakes by three lengths, and was supplemented for the Dante on Friday. O'Brien's Dante record makes interesting reading Only two of O'Brien's previous four Dante winners have turned up in the Epsom Derby and neither made a significant impact. The Ballydoyle handler tends to have his leading Epsom contenders prepping somewhere other than York, but he has been happy to send ante-post Derby favourite The Lion In Winter here since it was confirmed that a minor setback at home was going to prevent him from running in the Guineas at Newmarket. Was this race an afterthought, of sorts, or was it simply the case that O'Brien had pencilled all of his other would-be Derby hopefuls in for their trials? He's been winning those races at Chester, Lingfield and Leopardstown in recent days, so if that was the case, it was a masterplan. Even though he has an exact replica of Tattenham Corner at his Ballydoyle base, O'Brien knows the importance of a run before the Derby and he is relieved The Lion In Winter will get that here, though he sounded a note of caution too. "We're delighted that it looks like he's going to make it," O'Brien said on Tuesday. "We weren't sure he would — he's been off a long time. But with the Derby in mind, it was the perfect prep. Obviously, it's a very good Derby trial. "He's going to improve a ton from whatever he does. Hopefully, he's going to run well and that we've enough done with him to help him to run well. It's going to be very interesting. Hopefully, we have him in a good enough place to show what his potential could be." If you already have a Midnite account, check out more of the best betting sites and casino bonuses
