Bonfire heading market for Betfred Dante Stakes at York
Andrew Balding’s 3-year-old colt, Bonfire, is leading the betting card for Betfred Dante Stakes, taking place at York on Thursday, May 17th. According to the plan, the Group 2 meeting will be commenced at 14:30 GMT.
Manduro’s son was pretty impressive on his debut in September last year. The spectators at Salisbury saw him sealing the top rank in the British Stallion Studs E B F Molson Coors Maiden Stakes (Div II).
Although Ralph Beckett’s trainee, Cubanita, tried hard to fancy her chances, Bonfire did not let her spoil his party. Following a terrific job all the way through, the novice colt seized the top rank by two lengths.
Bonfire could not continue his good work, when ran in the Group 1 Criterium International the following month. On a very soft ground at Saint-cloud, the colt failed to maintain the highest standards and as a result, ended up
third on the table.
After an impressive start, the colt went on a long vacation. He was due to return to action in the Dee Stakes at Chester last week, but the connections made changes to the plans at the eleventh hour.
The conditions at Chester were too testing and therefore, Bonfire’s camp skipped the Dee Stakes and brought the colt to York. Harry Herbert, racing manager for owners Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, said:
"I saw Bonfire on Monday and he looked in great condition. He has been training well and this race will tell us where we stand."
"We always thought that a track like York would suit him, but we were worried that with only 16 days between the Dante and the Derby that if we ran at Chester then we may have a bit more time. However, the very deep ground at
Chester prevented him from running so we rerouted to York as he is ready to run and needs the racing experience for the Derby," he added.
Bonfire is set to face half a dozen rivals in today’s 1m2f88y event. Mandaean, who is also making his comeback after a long layoff, is being considered as the biggest threat to Bonfire. A tug of war is on the card between the
two highly talented runners.
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