By Tom Frary
As the only runner in Thursday's G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes with a sole outing to his name, David Aykroyd's Pride Of Arras had a bit to find but at the end of York's time-honoured Derby trial he had little to prove. Set alight by Rossa Ryan heading to the two pole, the Ralph Beckett-trained Sandown maiden winner surged by a wall of closely-matched peers to take total control a furlong from home. At the line, the 18-1 shot who descends from Juddmonte's G3 Park Hill Stakes winner Eva Luna and whose family includes Brian Boru had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over Frankel's Damysus. There was another 1 3/4 lengths between that G3 Sandown Classic Trial third and the solid yardstick Wimbledon Hawkeye in third, with the 8-11 favourite The Lion In Winter running free early and then flat where it mattered, finishing sixth.
Beckett has a live Blue Riband contender on his hands in an open year. “He hasn't had an easy prep and had a complicated time of it last autumn,” he said of the homebred. “We've had a few just needing it, so we're very pleased. I was hoping he was going to run well, full stop, whether that was finishing sixth, third or winning and he's done more than that. He will take a big step forward from today, we can be sure of that.”
Pride Of Arras remains unbeaten to win the @ABE_Dubai Dante Stakes at 18/1!
The Lion In Winter finishes sixth on his return at @yorkracecourse @RalphBeckett | @Rossaryan15 pic.twitter.com/RJQSCHsCGj
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 15, 2025
With the pace mostly on the slow side of par, well behind the preceding Middleton Stakes for the first seven furlongs, the winner's closing three-furlong split of 35.13 looked like that of a stayer whose class came to the fore in an unsuitably-run race. The contest's stand-out split came from Damysus, with the runner-up's penultimate furlong of 11.33 suggesting he has the pace to hold his own at Epsom.
“He's worthy of his place in the Derby,” Beckett added. “It's difficult to say he's like my other Classic horses. He's not a Westover, he's not Bluestocking. He has a good back pedigree, but not the profile of those, if you like. But, in saying that, he has more speed than Westover, he's a better workhorse than he was. If he handles Epsom, which I think he will, and he handles the jamboree, which based on today I think he will, we've every right to think we're going there to be competitive. What happens after that, who knows?”
Rossa Ryan was impressed. “He has a great mentality. We thought we'd have a big hole without Bluestocking this year, but we could have found one. The plan was to drop him in the middle so he would learn, but he took me into the race really good and I had loads underneath me so I could just sit and wait. He didn't do a lot in front and will come on for it a lot, especially as some of ours have been needing the run.”
Regarding the winner's Derby prospects, the jockey was quick to point out that his half-siblings Sweet Fantasy and Patient Dream have both mastered the home of the Blue Riband's unique contours. “I've won on his brother and sister around Epsom and he has a good centre of gravity and a great mindset, so everything suggests we should take a punt at it,” he added. “You'd be getting a bit excited about him alright, for sure. We can dream a small bit with this lad, he's got a bright future.”
John Gosden said of Damysus, “We'll work out what's next, as maybe that's his trip but maybe we can think about going a little further with him too as he stayed on well.” James Owen said of Wimbledon Hawkeye, “They were two lovely colts in front of us and we've beaten the favourite. He's exciting for the future and we'll be definitely going to the Derby. We thought the ground was a little bit over-watered and Hector said it wasn't ideal. Real quick ground will suit him.”
Aidan O'Brien was not giving up on The Lion In Winter's Derby prospects. “Ryan was very happy. He said he jumped out and he was a bit keen and a bit fresh, but when he did get him back he relaxed very well,” he said. “He said he had to come out earlier than he wanted, as they were coming around him and he probably got a little bit tired because it was his first run, but he was very positive about him.”
“He did it well to make it here,” the master of Ballydoyle added of the long-time Derby favourite. “He wouldn't have made it to any trial other than here because we wouldn't have had the time, so he was just ready to come racing and maybe that's why he was a bit fresh. Ryan said the ground probably couldn't be quick enough for him and he rides like a horse with a lot of class and a lot of speed and we just have to decide now do we go to Epsom or does he go to a French Derby?”
“He will tell us how he is when we start working him again in a week and that's the tall and short of it–he could turn into a totally different horse,” O'Brien concluded. “The good thing is Ryan was very positive and this horse is going to make a lot of improvement from today, we knew that before we came here. He's not just going to improve, he's going to make a lot of improvement and you can probably see why I was thinking that after seeing him run. If he had jumped out and done everything right, he might have got away with it but he didn't do anything right.”
Pedigree Notes
Any stamina doubts for Pride Of Arras at Epsom can be readily dispelled on all known pedigree evidence, with the dam Parnell's Dream hailing from the aforementioned Juddmonte family renowned for stamina. Despite being by the sprinter elite Oasis Dream, she was a dual handicap winner over the Derby trip and her first three foals all proved strong stayers before being sent over hurdles.
The second dam Kitty O'Shea looked potentially top-class when winning the 2005 G3 Park Express Stakes, but unfortunately that was the last sight of the daughter of Sadler's Wells before she produced the smart pair Kissable and Kingdom Of Munster. The former, who was third in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, is the dam of Gleneagles's G1 Prix de Royallieu and G2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Loving Dream and Sea The Stars' GII Pennine Ridge Stakes winner and GI Saratoga Derby and GI Belmont Derby-placed Legend Of Time.
Kitty O'Shea was one of four black-type winners out of the aforementioned Eva Luna, with the others being the G1 St Leger hero Brian Boru, the G2 Hardwicke Stakes scorer Sea Moon and the G2 Prix de Royallieu scorer Moon Search. Another of Eva Luna's daughters of Sadler's Wells, Kushnarenkovo who was runner-up in the G3 Noblesse Stakes, is the second dam of the multiple Australian Group 1-winning champion Stayer Best Solution and the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud hero El Bodegon, with both being by the speed influence Kodiac.
If any further evidence was needed that Pride Of Arras is made for Epsom and a mile and a half, it comes in the form of Eva Luna's Soviet Moon, yet another by Sadler's Wells who produced the brilliant Derby hero Workforce by the brilliant Guineas winner King's Best. She was also responsible for Emissary, a son of Kingman who was runner-up in the G1 Melbourne Cup. If he fails on the first Saturday in June, it won't be for lack of staying power. Parnell's Dream's 2-year-old is a full-sister to the winner.
Thursday, York, Britain
AL BASTI EQUIWORLD DUBAI DANTE STAKES-G2, £192,200, York, 5-15, 3yo, 10f 56yT, 2:11.56, g/f.
1–PRIDE OF ARRAS (IRE), 128, c, 3, by New Bay (GB)
1st Dam: Parnell's Dream (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB)
2nd Dam: Kitty O'Shea (GB), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Eva Luna, by Alleged
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Mrs David Aykroyd; B-Mr & Mrs David Aykroyd; T-Ralph Beckett; J-Rossa Ryan. £108,997. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $151,465. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Damysus (GB), 128, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Legerete, by Rahy. (460,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Newsells Park Stud & Merry Fox Stud; T-John & Thady Gosden. £41,323.
3–Wimbledon Hawkeye (GB), 128, c, 3, Kameko–Eva Maria (GB), by Sea The Stars (Ire). O-The Gredley Family; B-Stetchworth & Middle Park Studs Ltd; T-James Owen. £20,681.
Margins: 1 1/4, 1 3/4, NK. Odds: 18.00, 16.00, 7.00.
Also Ran: Devil's Advocate (GB), Nightwalker (GB), The Lion In Winter (Ire), Tuscan Hills (Fr), Sea Scout (Ire), Royal Playwright (GB), Mister Rizz (GB), Alpine Trail (Fr).
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