Big questions over principals mean outsider is certain to be underestimated in wide-open Dante

The Derby jigsaw has been gradually taking shape over the past few weeks and now attention turns to the Knavesmire and the Dante for the final pieces of the Classic puzzle. 

Arrest and Military Order threw their names into the hat for Classic laurels with impressive successes at Chester and Lingfield last week, but this is the deepest trial yet. In all likelihood the colt coming home in front at York will rocket to the summit of the ante-post market for the most important three-year-old race in the calendar. 

From a British perspective the Dante is overwhelmingly the number one trial and boasts a superior record at producing homegrown Derby winners than every other dress rehearsal. Since 2000, nine British-trained horses have landed the Derby and six of those (66 per cent) advertised their Epsom credentials in the Dante.