Best bets for Day Three of the Dante Meeting at York

Friday at the Dante Meeting up at York is Yorkshire Cup day. The nightmare that has been May for me continued Thursday with both bets being beaten. It looks like being a dry night and day up on the Knavesmire so I have placed my bets overnight as I think both fancies for Friday could get shorter.

Best bets for the horse racing at York the Dante Meeting

The Listed mile Sky Bet Fillies' Stakes at 3.15 is the first race I am involved with on Friday. Unbeaten in her two starts to date, Devoted Queen trained by Charlie Appleby steps up to Listed level for the first time. The Kingman filly readily won a maiden at over seven Newmarket’s Dubai Future Champions Festival in October before beginning her three-year-old campaign winning by a neck over a mile in a Kempton Park conditions race in early April; showing a good attitude after a slow start and a willingness to dig deep to get her head in front. Trainer Charlie Appleby said of her this week “Devoted Queen is in good order and I feel that she is ready to step up to this level now. She is a good-moving filly and ideally we would like decent ground, but she goes into this in great shape.” I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this one proved Group class over the coming weeks and have a bit of the 11-4 this evening. True Cyan was fourth in G.3 7f Nell Gwyn at HQ on her seasonal reappearance and with the first and second there subsequently tenth and ninth in the 1,000 Guineas and third in the race, Kathmandu, going on to finish second in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches the grey has to be considered the danger.

The race of the day the 1m6f Group Two Boodles Yorkshire Cup Stakes, has a number of the usual suspects lining-up but there is one I have to back. Tower Of London has won me a few quid already in 2024 winning 1m7f G.3 Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap at Riyadh and the 2m G.2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan already this year. I said when tipping him on Dubai World Cup night he looks a good Cup horse in the making for the team at Ballydoyle over the coming season and the way he won there just confirmed it for me. The nice long straight here will give Ryan Moore plenty of time to stalk the field before going clear in the final furlong. I am on at ear’ole 6-4. Aidan O'Brien said this week “We’ve been very happy with Tower Of London really. He’s progressing well. He ran a nice race in the St Leger, but has shown in his last two races that he’s improving quickly. He did well to win in Saudi when he met some trouble, but then in Dubai what he did was really pleasing.” 

As it happens Kyprios runs in the G.3 1m6f Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown Friday evening, Moore will be crossing the Irish Sea to ride that one as well, and it will be interesting to see if they allow the pair to race in the Gold Cup at Ascot next month. 

Lead Artist and First Conquest face each other again in the Darley EBF Novice Stakes. I tipped  First Conquest on debut when he beat Lead Artist by a nose at HQ in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes. They are obviously closely match but the second gets 6lb here with First Conquest having the penalty so you'd expect the Juddmonte colt to gain revenge but it's hard to call, Under Siege can't be ignored either, and I have decided to leave the race alone.   

 Be lucky