The Lion In Winter, the current favourite for the Betfred Derby, will return to racing next month in the Dante Stakes at York. His trainer, Aidan O’Brien, believes this race will be the perfect test to prepare the unbeaten colt for the big Derby race.
The colt, whose father is the famous Sea The Stars, was one of the top young horses last year. He won his first race at the Curragh in style and then easily won again at York in August.
O’Brien plans to give him a longer race this time to see if he has the stamina needed for the Derby. He also said the horse will benefit from the run before heading to Epsom for the Classic race. O’Brien has trained four winners of the Dante Stakes, most recently Cape Blanco in 2010, who later won the Irish Derby.
Right now, The Lion In Winter is the 7-2 favourite for the Derby. His stablemate Twain is next in line at 8-1 and might run in the 2,000 Guineas first, like several past Derby winners from O’Brien’s yard. Another runner, Delacroix, priced at 14-1, will take part in the Derby trial at Leopardstown after winning the Ballysax recently.
O’Brien said, “The Lion In Winter won’t run in the Guineas. Instead, he’ll go to the Dante Stakes. We’re really happy with how he’s doing. He’ll probably be about 80 or 90 percent ready for the Dante, and if that goes well, we’ll talk about what to do next. The Derby is likely the goal.”
“He’s improved a lot over the winter. Last year, he looked mature for a two-year-old and he’s an easy horse to train. He’s not slow and doesn’t act like a slow horse, but horses from Sea The Stars usually stay the distance well.”
“If he runs a mile and a quarter in the Dante, we’ll get a better idea of whether he can handle longer distances. I think Ryan Moore will ride him calmly. He’ll improve a lot after the Dante, and then we’ll know more about going to the Derby.”
Talking about his other Derby hopefuls, O’Brien said, “Delacroix will run next in the Derrinstown and might go to the Derby. If Twain wins the Guineas, the team will likely want to send him to the Derby too – for obvious reasons.”
Just like The Lion In Winter, Twain has won both of his races so far, including a maiden race at Leopardstown and the Group 1 Criterium International last season. Twain, a colt by Wootton Bassett, is currently the 11-2 favourite for the 2,000 Guineas. He’s O’Brien’s top hope for the season’s first Classic. His stablemate, Expanded, is expected to run in the Tetrarch Stakes at the Curragh the day after.
O’Brien added, “We asked a lot of Twain last year. He won his first race, and just eight days later we took him to France for a Group 1. In his maiden, he never saw another horse, so the plan was to teach him by keeping him behind others. But he started fast and stayed in front.”
“Ryan said he was still inexperienced in France but won easily. There’s a good chance he can handle the Derby distance after the Guineas.”
“Twain and Expanded are special horses. What they achieved last year was amazing. Honestly, we maybe asked too much of them—but they still delivered.”