Daily Nap Thursday May 12: Magisterial to claim latest Dante for Gosdens
- Jonathan Doidge
- 11 May 2022
Thursday’s big race is, of course, the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York and Jonathan Doidge has checked out the race and come up with a selection.
Always a race to savour, the 2022 Dante (15:35) is no exception, with all the top yards you'd expect sending runners and a field of 14 is larger than average for the race.
In itself, that may cause a traffic problem or two on route but hopefully we'll see a good, clean race and the best horse will win.
Desert Crown was impressive in scoring at Nottingham over an extended mile and he looks a worthy favourite based on that. He's already as short as 11/2 for the Cazoo Derby itself and you can understand why.
However, I'm siding with the only John and Thaady Gosden-trained runner in the field, Magisterial. This yard doesn't send just one runner for this race without thinking it has a serious chance.
Granted, he has had more experience than some, which may be seen as being more exposed. However, his fast ground Leicester success last time, when stepped up to 1m2f, was a significant improvement and I think there is more to come.
John Gosden has an enviable recent record in this race and, while Magisterial may never be as good as some previous winners for the stable, such as Golden Horn and Roaring Lion, we only need him to win on the day to make a profit.
So, it's Magisterial to win the Dante (15:35) at York on Thursday.
