CAPE BLANCO will attempt to give Aidan O’Brien a fourth success in today’s Dante Stakes at York which is the last of the recognised major Epsom Derby trials.
Three of the last six Dante winners – Authorized (2007), Motivator (2005) and North Light (2004) – have gone on to win the blue riband at Epsom and North Light’s trainer, Michael Stoute, will saddle today’s likely favourite, Workforce.
O’Brien has already confirmed the current favourite St Nicholas Abbey as his number one Derby candidate and yesterday he appeared to cast some doubt on Cape Blanco’s stamina credentials for a mile and a half.
“He is a low-moving horse and you wonder how far he will stay,” said the champion trainer who has been victorious in the Dante with Black Bear Island last year, Septimus four years ago and Saratoga Springs in 1998.
“He should get a mile and a quarter and if he gets further, then who knows. But he does have class,” he added.
“There doesn’t look to be a lot of pace. I would love to have something in there to go on and make the running but we don’t.”
O’Brien indicated last week that Cape Blanco would improve for his Dante appearance but the unbeaten Galileo colt remains a 16 to 1 shot for next month’s Derby.
Not surprisingly the cream of Britain’s Derby prospects take part including the Epsom second favourite, Workforce, whose jockey, Ryan Moore, appeared to play down expectations yesterday.
“He’s second favourite just by the fact that nothing else has come out and been impressive,” Moore said of the Juddmonte colt who won his sole start at Goodwood last year.
“He has been hyped by the media, really, everyone saying he’s a good horse. It will be nice to get him out and see what we’ve got.”
Godolphin are represented by the ex-Jim Bolger-trained Chabal who landed the Sandown Classic Trial last month, a piece of form that was boosted at Chester last week, while Motivator’s trainer, Michael Bell, pitches in another son of Montjeu, Coordinated Cut.
O’Brien is also represented in the six-furlong two-year-old race with the Holy Roman Emperor filly, Juliet Capulet, whose Naas debut resulted in a fourth to Head Space.
Ballydoyle’s focus switches to Gowran Park this evening where riding arrangements indicate High Ruler, a son of Mr Greeley out of the Oaks winner Lady Carla, will make his presence felt in the opening seven-furlong juvenile maiden.
Séamus Heffernan will also be on board Rain Forest in the concluding conditions race and this one had no trouble coping with fast ground when breaking his maiden at Navan.
Rain Forest should have progressed significantly from that, enough perhaps to cope with challenges from Mister Carter, who flopped in the Ballysax, and the 102 rated Bobbyscot.
Jim Bolger’s Book Of Numbers made the most of a return to fast ground at Wexford six days ago when scoring by four lengths and despite a 5lb penalty, and being 3lb out of the weights proper, he can follow up in the nine-furlong handicap.
His stable companion, Duaiseoir, will also be a major player in the mile handicap.
Independent bookmakers launch online site
A TOTAL of seven of Ireland’s largest independent bookmakers have launched a new betting website to allow them better compete against the large bookmaking chains, especially in the area of online betting, writes Brian O’Connor.
The new site, BetPack.com, has been put together by Dublin-based corporate finance company, Raglan Capital, for the bookmakers, Bambury, Hacketts, Mulhollands, Terry Rogers, Toolans, Tullys and Track bookmakers.
Each of the seven will receive an equal share of any BetPack profits.
“We are losing approximately 25 per cent of earnings to online betting once we closed our shops in the evening and now we can develop a relationship with our customers over the counter and through the website,” said Jimmy Finlay of Bambury bookmakers yesterday.
Finlay added that other independent bookmakers could be about to join the project which he said would safeguard up to 500 current jobs.
The seven firms currently operate 180 betting shops in Ireland.
