Camelot pictured winning on his debut at Leopardstown© Photo Healy Racing
QIPCO 2000 Guineas and Investec Derby favourite Camelot heads a powerful 24-strong Ballydoyle entry for the £150,000 Betfred Dante Stakes at York on 17th May.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien has almost a third of the 76 entries for the extended mile and a quarter Group 2 race, considered to be Britain's premier Derby trial.
Among those nominated at the initial stage by O'Brien are last Saturday's Group 2 UAE Derby winner Daddy Long Legs and Wrote, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in 2011.
O'Brien, who has won two of the last three renewals of the Dante, has a multitude of options for the race - as have Sir Henry Cecil and Godolphin, both of whom have entered eight horses.
At the other end of the scale, Newmarket-based Italian Marco Botti is represented by just one in the Betfred Dante Stakes, the unbeaten Kingsdesire.
But the King's Best colt, owned by Giuliano Manfredini, has impressed on both of his racecourse starts to date, not least when scoring in smooth style in a mile and a quarter handicap at Doncaster last Sunday. Botti won the same race in 2009 with Gitano Hernando, who went on to score in Grade 1 company.
The trainer said: "Kingsdesire is going the right way, improving - and he has done well physically. We are hoping that he will turn into a nice horse.
"He won a weak maiden last year and we thought he would make a better three-year-old.
"I was expecting a good run from him last Sunday and he won nicely on ground that was a little bit too quick for him.
"We have spoken to the owner since and said 'would you mind if we give him an entry into the Dante' and he said, 'Let's do it'. The horse is also in the French Derby and we will see how he progresses.
"We left plenty on him - (Sunday) wasn't the main target anyway. But we wanted to start him back in a handicap.
"A mile and a quarter is probably his best trip and I'm not quite sure if he will get further. A mile and a half might stretch him.
"We will see how much he improves from that run, but the Dante is definitely under consideration."
George Primarolo, spokesman for Betfred, said: "The Betfred Dante Stakes is a proven Derby trial with three of the past eight winners going on to win at Epsom and the quality of this year's entry means that we could well be seeing another potential classic colt on the Knavesmire this spring."
Overall, there are 76 entries for the 2012 Betfred Dante Stakes - six more than at the same stage last year.
Betfred Dante Stakes entries: Aazif, Ace of Valhalla, Amira's Prince, Apollo, Astrology, Athens, Basseterre, Bonfire, Bordoni, Camelot, Cameron Highland, Chamonix, Chicago, Continuum, Coupe de Ville, Crius, Daddy Long Legs, Dark Stranger, David Livingston, Dream Tune, Ektihaam, El Greco, Ernest Hemingway, Farhaan, Father of Science, Fencing, Forgotten Hero, Furner's Green, Gabrial The Great, Gold Rally, Hail, Handsome Man, Ibtahaj, Imperial Monarch, King of Dudes, Kingsdesire, Learn, Lebron, Light Heavy, Main Sequence, Mandaean, Marchese Marconi, Martin Chuzzlewit, Miblish, Mighty Ambition, Model Pupil, Mojave, Mubaraza, Noble Mission, Offer, Oxford Charley, Parish Hall, Pembrey, Perennial, Ptolemaic, Pulverize, Rayvin Black, Shantaram, Starboard, Star For Life, Stipulate, Swedish Sailor, Taigan, Tenth Star, Thomas Chippendale, Thomasgainesborough, Thought Worthy, Touch Gold, Tower Rock, Trumpet Major, Unanimous Validus, Warwick Avenue, Wrote, Wrotham Heath, Zanotti.
