The Dante Stakes at this week's three-day Dante Festival in York marks the final major Trial for next month's Epsom Derby.
When is the Epsom Derby?
The Epsom Derby, open to three-year-old colts and fillies, is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey on the first Saturday in June over a distance of one mile, four furlongs and 10 yards.
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Why has the Epsom Derby start time been changed?
Previously scheduled for 4:30pm on Saturday 3rd June, the Epsom Derby 2023 will now be run at 1:30pm to avoid a clash with the FA Cup Final between Manchester City and Manchester United, which kicks off at Wembley at 3pm.
What are the Epsom Derby Trials?
In the early months of the Flat Season there are a number of key trials used as a stepping stone to winning the Epsom Derby. You can wind the winners of these races so far in the table below.
| Date | Race | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| April 2nd | Ballysax Stakes | White Birch |
| April 19th | Feilden Stakes | Canberra Legend |
| April 20th | Craven Stakes | Indestructible |
| April 26th | Classic Trial | Abandoned (Rain) |
| May 1st | Prix Greffulhe | Greenland |
| May 6th | 2000 Guineas | Chaldean |
| May 7th | Leopardstown Derby Trial | Sprewell |
| May 10th | Chester Vase | Arrest |
| May 11th | Dee Stakes | San Antonio |
| May 13th | Lingfield Derby Trial | Military Order |
| May 18th | Dante Stakes | TBC |
Last year, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Desert Crown won the Dante Stakes before landing the Derby just three weeks later by 2 1/2 lengths from Hoo Ya Mal.
2023 Epsom Derby Odds
This year's favourite is Military Order (4/1), who made it three wins from four starts in last week's Lingfield Derby Trial Stakes - in turn, going one better than his brother Adayar who finished 2nd at Lingfield two years ago before claiming the big one.
The second favourite for the 2023 Epsom Derby is Auguste Rodin (9/2), who was as short as 13/8 with one bookmaker at the end of April before finishing 12th of 14 runners in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket - 22 lengths behind the winner Chaldean.
