Timefigure Review: Dante Festival

Wednesday

The Duke of York lacked a sprinter of the calibre of last year's winner Harry Angel, but it still witnessed a high-class performance from Invincible Army. With the race being well run (98.9% race finishing speed) courtesy of Ornate and El Astronaute, there can be no doubt about the result.

Invincible Army was better than ever in winning his first Group 2, travelling well in mid-field before drawing clear in the final furlong, winning with a bit in hand and recording his best timefigure 117 (119 with a 2 lb sectional upgrade). The Diamond Jubilee is up next, and he deserves his place near the top of the betting. Major Jumbo produced a career-best effort in finishing second - doing well having sat closer to the pace than the winner, third and fourth - while Limato, who was giving weight all round, probably needed the run after seven months off.

Impressive - Invincible Army looks better than ever and remains unbeaten this term in the Duke Of York Clipper Logistics Stakes for James Tate and P J McDonald at @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/TpAEU3Jv6V

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 15, 2019

Three-year-old fillies were up next in the Musidora, where winning performances can vary greatly, with the likes of Lush Lashes (2008, 115 performance rating), Sariska (2009, 117) The Fugue (2012, 116) and So Mi Dar (2016, 114) representing the strongest recent renewals. The 2019 renewal is very much at the lower end, though, with the field finishing in something of a heap.

Roger Varian’s Nausha won the day from Entitle and Frankellina, with the steady pace (103.9%) resulting in a timefigure of 95. The form is well short of what is required at Epsom, with Frankellina likely to prove best of them in time - she was slowly away on her return from seven months off and still showed some signs of inexperience.

The Jeremy Noseda-trained Bomb Proof made a smart debut in winning the two-year-old novice race, which was dominated by newcomers. Bomb Proof was clearly clued up and, in showing a good turn of foot, returned a good timefigure (99), which has been bettered by only one two-year-olds so far in 2019 - Richard Fahey’s Ventura Rebel (101). Threat also posted a timefigure of (99) when making a winning debut for Richard Hannon at Newmarket's Guineas meeting.

Thursday

On paper the Dante revolved around the top two-year-old of 2018, Too Darn Hot, who was denied his chance in the 2000 Guineas following a minor set-back. There was no shortage of promising sorts amongst the opposition for his belated return, though, including Line of Duty, Japan, Surfman and Telecaster.

It was the latter who emerged victorious under a very efficient Oisin Murphy ride, continuing his rapid progress and pulling clear with Too Darn Hot, who was clear of Surfman and Japan, both well held in third and fourth. Despite the field getting strung out early, as Turgenev and Telecaster went clear, the closing finishing speed was similar to that of the fillies in the Musidora (104.3%), and the resulting timefigure was just 113 (only Carlton House’s Dante slower since 2010), with minimal sectional upgrades needing to be added.

The winner was around three lengths clear of Too Darn Hot three furlongs from home, who was in turn around three lengths clear of Surfman and Japan. Too Darn Hot lost little in defeat, doing well to bridge the gap, just unable to sustain that effort late as the winner found plenty.

Telecaster holds off Too Darn Hot and wins the Dante! pic.twitter.com/2ESJN9SoFT

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) May 16, 2019

Surfman showed improved form, but wasn’t well placed throughout and held little chance from his position. York have been sharing sectionals via a printout nailed to a noticeboard at the course (it’s 2019), which revealed (if the technology is reliable) that Surfman made very quick progress during the hottest part of the race, just as they entered the straight, before struggled to sustain the effort. He’s likely to win a decent race at some stage, with further improvement on the cards.

Too Darn Hot’s full sister, Lah Ti Dar, made light of a 208-day absence to win the Middleton Fillies’ Stakes, needing a better than average effort to see off Rawdaa. In a race that was steadily run (105.7%, 97 timefigure), she (2 lb upgrade) was better placed than Rawdaa (4 lb upgrade) but this should be a good platform for her season. Rawdaa will find weaker races at this level.

Friday

The Yorkshire Cup was the feature event on day three, a race won by Stradivarius last year, a well-run race (100.8%, 120 timefigure) that saw him win emphatically before going on to land the Ascot Gold Cup and remain unbeaten in 2018.

The 2019 renewal proved to be a slightly different test, with the pace very steady early (108.2%, 87 timefigure), which suited the more prominently-ridden Southern France, an improving four-year-old. Stradivarius is likely to come up against new faces as the season progresses, but this race should help him on his way back to his very best again.

He's back - Stradivarius is all heart and triumphs once again in the @TeamMatchbook Yorkshire Cup! @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/CgdG692BTf

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 17, 2019

The closing handicap saw a couple of runners not quite meet expectations, yet it was still a useful performance by the Mark Johnston-trained winner Summer Moon. The 2018 renewal saw a couple of Johnston runners fight out the finish, Baghdad and Making Miracles, both of whom would go on to win valuable handicaps last season, and this.

Summer Moon had previously impressed at Windsor, where he clocked a fast time and quick closing sectionals, and this win confirmed that performance. While he was able to dictate at a steady gallop (106.2%), he pulled clear of the rest as he stayed on strongly, again recording a good time (95) and fast closing sectionals (4 lb upgrade) in the process.