Cape Blanco Coasts Into The Derby Picture With Dante Win!

The predominate Derby trial went the way of Ballydoyle this afternoon, where Cape Blanco gave the Irish-training outfit a long-awaited victory in a UK Classic trial with a win in the Dante Stakes.

The result will come as no surprise for the early supporters who have been availing themselves to Cape Blanco’s Derby odds with William Hill over the last ten days, backing him down from 25-1 to 12-1 pre-race, and also taking the special odds of 28-1 about a Dante-Derby double.

Hills reacted by slashing the odds of the son of Galileo to 4-1 second-favourite (from 12-1), placing him behind long-time ante-post favourite St Nicholas Abbey – who was supported by punters after the Dante into 5-2 from 3-1.

Nine horses have completed the Dante-Derby double, and Cape Blanco bids to emulate the likes of Motivator in 2005 and Authorized in 2007, by going on to win the Derby after having conquered the York trial.

Kate Miller, spokeswoman for William Hill said: “Most of the top yards will wait for the Dante to send out their best Derby hopes, and as soon as Cape Blanco was engaged the money began to pour in for him. Despite the small field, today’s Dante was a select affair, and Cape Blanco has simply outclassed them all. We, like most firms have big liabilities on his stable-mate St Nicholas Abbey so we are delighted that another strong contender has come to the fore.’’

Investec Derby: 5-2 St Nicholas Abbey, Cape Blanco, 8-1 Workforce, 12-1 Bullet Train, 12-1 Jan Vermeer, 14-1 Midas Touch, 20-1 Azmeel, Coordinated Cut, Fencing Master, Mikhail Glinka, , 33-1 Al Zir, Chabal, Desert Myth, Fair Trade, Flying Cross, Joshua Tree, Passion for Gold, Zeitoper, 40-1 Bar (EW 1/4 odds 1,2,3)