The Lion In Winter set to take in Dante before Derby tilt with connections keen to examine unbeaten colt's stamina

The Lion In Winter, favourite for the Betfred Derby, will make his keenly anticipated reappearance in next month's Dante Stakes at York and his trainer Aidan O'Brien is confident it will leave the unbeaten colt spot on for his Classic bid. 

The son of Sea The Stars was one of the standout juveniles last season, landing a Curragh maiden on his debut in excellent fashion before bolting up by a length and three-quarters at York in August.

O'Brien will task the three-year-old with a significant step up in trip on his return to examine his stamina, while the trainer also noted he would improve for the run before his big assignment at Epsom. Ballydoyle has been responsible for four Dante winners, the latest being Irish Derby winner Cape Blanco in 2010. 

The Lion In Winter is 7-2 favourite for the Derby ahead of stablemate Twain, who is a best-priced 8-1. Twain could take the same route as four of Ballydoyle's ten Derby winners by contesting the 2,000 Guineas first, while 14-1 chance Delacroix will run in the Derby trial at Leopardstown next month after he made a winning reappearance in the Ballysax.

Twain: looks set to run in the 2,000 Guineas next monthCredit: Patrick McCann

"The Lion In Winter isn't going to the Guineas, he'll go to the Dante," O'Brien said. "We're very happy with him. He'll probably be 80 or 90 per cent for the Dante and if that goes well then we'll see what the lads want to do, but the Derby would probably be the plan.

"He has done very well over the winter. Last year, he didn't look an immature two-year-old and he's straightforward. He's not slow and doesn't work like a slow horse but obviously most of the Sea The Stars seem to stay very well. 

"If we go a mile and a quarter in the Dante, we'll have a little idea if he'll stay and I'd imagine Ryan [Moore] will ride him patiently. He'll come forward a lot from the Dante, but we'll have a feel about going to the Derby then."

Delacroix: the Ballysax winner will run in the Derby trial at Leopardstown nextCredit: Patrick McCann

On his other Derby contenders, O'Brien said: "Delacroix will go to the Derrinstown next and could go to the Derby. If Twain won the Guineas, there's a good chance the lads will want to go to the Derby with him for obvious reasons."

Like The Lion In Winter, Twain is unbeaten in two starts after landing a Leopardstown maiden and the Group 1 Criterium International last season. The Wootton Bassett colt is the 11-2 favourite for the 2,000 Guineas and is O'Brien's leading contender for the first Classic of the season with stablemate Expanded likely to tackle the Tetrarch Stakes at the Curragh the following day.

"It was probably impossible what we asked Twain to do last season in that he won his maiden and then we brought him back eight days later to France for a Group 1," added O'Brien. 

"He never saw a horse in his maiden, so the plan was to drop him in and educate him a bit but he jumped out and that was it. Ryan said he was very green in France but still won impressively. There's every chance he could get the Derby trip after the Guineas.

"The likes of Twain and Expanded, those type of horses could be anything. What they did last year, they probably shouldn't have done and we probably shouldn't have asked them to do it but they did it."

Betfred Derby (4.30 Epsom, June 7)
Coral: 7-2 The Lion In Winter, 8 Twain, 12 Delacroix, Expanded, Ruling Court, 14 Opera Ballo, 25 Gethin, Purview, Stanhope Gardens, Starzintheireyes, 33 bar

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