Dante and Musidora Stakes to be held at York next month

PA Sport Reporters
June 9, 2020 9:30 pm

Traditional Classic trials will act as standalone targets this year.

The Dante Stakes and Musidora Stakes will be run at York on July 9 this year.

The two races traditionally act as Derby and Oaks trials respectively, but with the Epsom Classics taking place on July 4 that is not the case this season following various changes to the race calendar necessitated by coronavirus shutdown.

Won 12 months ago by the Hughie Morrison-trained Telecaster, the Dante was originally due to be held on May 14, with the Musidora a day earlier.

An update to trainers from the cross-industry Resumption of Racing Group said: “In order to ensure the ongoing education of our top-class 3yos, the Dante and Musidora will also be run at York on July 9, despite the fact that they will obviously not be acting as Derby/Oaks trials this year but will simply be Group Two and Group Three targets (respectively) in their own right.”

Newmarket’s three-day July meeting will also commence on July 9, while the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot remains in its scheduled slot of July 25.

From Monday, heritage handicaps will revert to normal safety factors or other field limits determined by racecourses. For all other races, the maximum field limit will increase from 12 runners to 14.