Dante Stakes

The Dante Stakes is a Group 2 race for three-year-olds over a mile and a quarter at York in May.

The Dante Stakes is run on 16th May 2024.

It is the feature race of the three-day Dante meeting and one of the most important trials for the Epsom Derby.

Eleven horses have gone on to win the Derby including Benny The Dip (1997), Authorized (2007), Golden Horn (2015) and Desert Crown (2022).

Find out more about the Dante Stakes:

Race Overview – The Dante Stakes

The Dante Stakes is a three-year-old flat horse race held in the United Kingdom.

The race takes place in York in May and is 1 mile, 2 furlongs, and 56 yards long.

The Dante Stakes is named in remembrance of Dante, the final horse trained in Yorkshire to win the Derby. It normally occurs on Thursday, the middle day of the three-day festival of the same name that takes place at York Racecourse.

Since the turn of the century, North Light, Motivator, Authorised, and Golden Horn have all gone on to win the June Classic, making this race one of the key qualifiers for the Epsom Derby the following month.

Dante Stakes 2025 Odds

Here are the latest odds for the Dante Stakes in May 2025:

These odds have not yet been released.

Dante Stakes 2025 Tips

Here are some tips for Dante Stakes in May 2025:

TBC

Some of the horses in the Dante Stakes will run in other events later in the year. Stay updated on the horses and place ante-post bets if you want to wager on them.

Here is the list of betting tips at York Races today from great shrewd punters who analyse critical information like the York Draw Bias.

Our amazing horse racing tipsters give free horse racing betting tips for all horse racing events today!

Dante Stakes Previous Winners

Famous Dante Stakes Winners

The race is named after the Yorkshire-trained winner of the 1945 Derby. It was first run in 1958 with victory going to Bald Eagle. He went on to make his name in the United States where he became Champion Older Male Horse in 1960. The Dante was run as a Group 3 from 1971 until being upgraded to Group 2 level in 1980.

1960 winner St Paddy was trained by Noel Murless and ridden by Lester Piggott. The son of Aureole won the Epsom Derby and the St Leger at Doncaster. The following season he added the Jockey Club Stakes, Eclipse Stakes and Hardwicke Stakes.

In 1972 the race was won by Rheingold who was beaten a short-head by Roberto at Epsom. In 1973 he won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, a first victory in the race for Piggott.

Shirley Heights (1978) also went on to win the Epsom Derby for John Dunlop and Greville Starkey. His Highness The Aga Khan won it with Shahrastani in 1986 who famously won the Derby at the expense of the luckless Dancing Brave.

Reference Point (1987) and Erhaab (1994) were others to complete the Dante-Derby double.

1997 winner Benny The Dip won at 11-1 at Epsom for John Gosden and Willie Ryan. After going clear early in the straight, he gamely held off the challenge of Silver Patriarch by a short-head in a thrilling finish. The high quality of winners has been maintained in more recent times with North Light (2004), Motivator (2005) and Authorized (2007) underlining the significance of this race as a Derby trial.

Golden Horn (2015) won the Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to be crowned European Horse of the Year. His Arc victory required a 120,000 Euro supplementary fee and he then had to overcome a wide draw. Frankie Dettori kept him wide of his rivals early on before tucking in behind the pace-setter, eventually winning by two lengths from Flintshire and New Bay.

Desert Crown (2022) is the latest horse to add his name to those successful at Epsom, scoring decisively for Sir Michael Stoute and Richard Kingscote.

Key Dante Stakes Trials

Winners of the Dante come from a wide variety of races.

Only one of the last twelve winners had previously been successful at Group 1 level.

Seven of the twelve had won last time out and this is often where promising colts  put their Classic credentials to the test.

The fact that ten of the last twelve winners went straight for the Epsom Derby speaks for itself. Of those, Golden Horn (2015) and Desert Crown (2022) were successful while four others were placed.

Her Majesty The Queen’s Carlton House finished third in the 2011 Derby, Libertarian (2013) finished runner-up at Epsom and both Roaring Lion (2018) and Hurricane Lane (2021) finished third in the Classic.

2014 winner The Grey Gatsby won the Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly on his next start.

Dante Stakes Betting Trends

Favourites have a very poor recent record in the Dante. Only Roaring Lion (3-1) won as clear favourite in the last twelve renewals.

2022 winner Desert Crown started 7-2 joint-favourite. The biggest shock in the Dante in recent years was the 33-1 success of Karl Burke’s Libertarian in 2013.

Permian (2017) won at 10-1 for Mark Johnston and Franny Norton while Wings Of Desire (2016) was only one point shorter for John Gosden and Frankie Dettori.

Dante Stakes – Top Trainers and Jockeys

Sir Michael Stoute’s victory with Desert Crown in 2022 brought him level with Henry Cecil on seven Dante winners. His other winners were Shahrastani (1986), Alnasr Alwasheek (1992), Dilshaan (2001), North Light (2004), Tartan Bearer (2008) and Carlton House (2011).

Cecil’s seven Dante winners came courtesy of Approval (1970), Lyphard’s Wish (1979), Hello Gorgeous (1980), Simply Great (1982), Claude Monet (1984), Reference Point (1987) and Tenby (1993). Aidan O’Brien has won it four times, his most recent success coming with Cape Blanco in 2010.

Pat Eddery is the leading rider in the history of the Dante Stakes with six victories; Beldale Flutter (1981), Hot Touch (1983), Damister (1985), Red Glow (1988), Sanglamore (1990) and Tenby (1993).

Betting on the Dante Stakes

The Dante Stakes is arguably the most significant Derby trial in Great Britain, boasting an impressive eleven subsequent Epsom winners.

Plenty of big reputations have been blown away in a race where favourites have struggled in recent times.

It is certain to have an impact on the ante-post Derby market and is a worthy feature race at the York May meeting.

Summary of Dante Stakes

The Dante Stakes takes place as part of the Dante Festival in May along with other races such as the Musidora Stakes, Hambleton Stakes and the Yorkshire Cup.

It is one of the key trails for the Epsom classic and has thrown up many high-class winners over the years.

If you are looking to place a bet on any of the races above then we advise you to check out our list of York Dante Festival Betting Offers for the Dante Festival 2025.

Check out our guides to all the other Group 2 horse races.

Related York Dante Festival Posts

Here are all the related posts for the 2025 York Dante Festival.