The historic Knavesmire is back for Day Two of the Dante Festival and Thursday’s action at York is headlined by the Group 2 Dante Stakes, serving as the ultimate proving ground for Epsom Derby hopefuls.
Get Day Two of the festival off to a flying start by checking out our expert betting tips for Thursday’s card, alongside the best exclusive free bet offers from the UK’s leading bookmakers.
York Dante Festival free bets & betting offers
Thursday sees the York Dante Festival head into Day Two, and there’s still lots of free bets on offer for all of the races if you sign-up to the best betting sites right now. The sign-up offer from Midnite looks a must-have with £30 available in free bets, perfect to bet through the card with.
At Tote, you can also get £30 in free bets, and with their expertise in horse racing you also have the chance to be a part of the Placepot and earn some big winnings on Thursday’s racing.
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York Dante Festival betting tips & predictions
York Dante Festival, York 2.55 – Sea Horse
If you believe in horses bouncing back from terrible luck, Sea Force is the absolute standout bet on Thursday’s card. William Haggas’s four-year-old arrives at York fresh off an absolute nightmare run in the Thirsk Hunt Cup earlier this month.
Caught behind a wall of horses two furlongs out and short of room again in the final fifty yards, he still managed to keep on powerfully to finish a desperately unlucky third behind Mirsky.
Because of that blocked run, the handicapper has only nudged him up a single pound, meaning he is sitting on an incredibly workable mark of 94 today. With the brilliant Tom Marquand back in the saddle, who steered him to a victory at Yarmouth last season, he has drawn perfectly to get a lovely tow into the race just outside the habitual front-runner, Point Lynas.
Haggas’s yard is in red-hot form following an opening-day double on Wednesday, and with a clear passage down the Knavesmire straight today, Sea Force looks incredibly well-handicapped and primed to exact his revenge on the field.
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York Dante Festival, York 3.30 – See The Fire
Looking to make history today, Andrew Balding’s brilliant mare See The Fire is aiming to become the very first dual winner in the 45-year history of the Middleton Stakes.
Anyone who watched this race last year will vividly remember her absolutely dismantling the field to win by an emphatic 12 lengths. She arrives back on the Knavesmire with the crucial advantage of race fitness, having already secured a determined victory on her seasonal reappearance at Nottingham last month.
While she faces a select but high-class field today, namely the formidable duo of Fallen Angel and Charlie Appleby’s Diamond Rain, her proven affinity for the sweeping York straight and her relationship with jockey Oisin Murphy make her incredibly difficult to oppose. If she brings anywhere near the same fireworks she produced here twelve months ago, she will be far too hot for this field to handle.
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York Dante Festival, York 4.05 – Christmas Day
Aidan O’Brien hasn’t won the Dante Stakes since 2010, but he returns to York with an absolute machine this year in the shape of Christmas Day. The undeniable leader of Thursday’s card, this Camelot colt arrives at York firmly cementing his status as a premier Epsom Derby contender.
He was incredibly impressive when securing his third consecutive victory on his seasonal return in the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown, showcasing exactly the kind of tactical speed and stamina required to conquer the Knavesmire. With his stablemate Action also in the field, Ryan Moore has predictably elected to stick with the stable’s number one prospect.
While Morshdi commands plenty of respect in the betting market, Christmas Day possesses that unmistakable Ballydoyle class. The galloping one-mile-and-two-furlong trip looks absolutely ideal for his development, making him a confident pick to punch his ticket to Epsom in style.
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