Dewhurst day offers Native Trail the chance to point the way to Classic glory

The Darley Dewhurst Stakes (2.55 ITV/RTV) is a race that gives licence for a thousand dreams to keep the cold at bay over winter, with the winner many more times than not crowned Europe's champion two-year-old and installed (or confirmed) as 2,000 Guineas favourite.

Native Trail will already be the protagonist of plenty of such dreams – and ante-post vouchers – for next May, with his power-packed finish in the Group 1 National Stakes a month ago evidence to many observers that his is a talent and a physique that looks ready made for Classic success at three.

William Buick and Charlie Appleby have become specialists in the National Stakes and it is a race which has also been a particularly reliable pointer to the Dewhurst itself over the last decade.