Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud, is hoping that Empowered can follow in the footsteps of half-brother Authorized, who won the best Derby trial, the totesport.com Dante Stakes, at York in May last year before success in the premier Classic the following month.

Authorized (Frankie Dettori green) duels with George Washington (Seamus Heffernan) in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown (07-07-07)
© racing-images.co.uk

Empowered, trained like Authorized by Peter Chapple-Hyam, is one of the 76 entries announced today for the 2008 totesport.com Dante Stakes which is run over an extended 10 furlongs on the second day of York’s May Festival, Thursday, May 15.

The York race is the richest Derby trial with £150,000 in prize money and easily the most important because three of the last four winners have gone on to Classic glory at Epsom Downs - Motivator (2005) and North Light (2004) as well as Authorized in 2007.

Declared to make his debut at Leicester tomorrow in a near 10-furlong maiden, the three-year-old son of Fasliyev is held in obviously high regard by connections.

“We’ve entered Empowered in the totesport.com Dante Stakes but we won’t know how good he is until he runs tomorrow.” explained Richardson.

“Obviously, being related to Authorized, Peter (Chapple-Hyam) has a soft spot for him but I think the proof will be in the running. Once he’s had an outing, we’ll know what ground and trip he likes but we do hope he will be good enough to run in the totesport.com Dante Stakes.

“He’s one of those horses who grew a lot as a two-year-old and was quite backward. Also, I think Peter had a few horses who were coughing towards the end of the season and he was one of them.

“We just a took a view that we’d let Empowered get over that and hopefully he’ll be a stronger and fitter horse for it.”

Aidan O’Brien, successful in the totesport.com Dante Stakes with both Saratoga Springs in 1998 and Septimus in 2006, has made a huge entry of 23 including Curragh maiden fourth Washington Irving, who is a Montjeu half-brother to Epsom and Darley Yorkshire Oaks heroine Alexandrova.

O’Brien is also represented in the entries by Listed Eyrefield Stakes winner Alessandro Volta and Achill Island, runner-up to the Brian Meehan-trained City Leader in the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot in September.

Other well related three-year-olds from his yard include King Of Westphalia, out of a Group One winner and full-sister of Irish 1,000 Guineas scorer Yesterday, Tale Of Two Cities, a full-brother to six-time Group One winner High Chaparral, and Hawk Wing’s Fusaichi Pegasus half-brother Zulu Chief.

Sir Michael Stoute’s totesport.com Dante Stakes quintet is headed by Confront, while the nine Godolphin entries trained by Saeed bin Suroor include Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner Rio De La Plata, Group One Racing Post Trophy victor Ibn Khaldun and McCartney who is being aimed at the race after winning three times last year including the Group Two Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

Four from Henry Cecil’s Newmarket base include the unbeaten Twice Over, who was a comfortable maiden winner at headquarters over a mile before stepping up to 10 furlongs at the same course for a conditions stakes, which the son of Observatory won in good style. His other entries are dual winners Jack Dawkins and Kandahar Run, along with debut runner-up Timetable, who is an Observatory half-brother to last season’s Group Three Tattersalls Musidora Stakes heroine Passage Of Time.