Too Darn Hot out of Derby reckoning after Dante defeat to Telecaster

Too Darn Hot was upstaged by Telecaster in a surprise result at the Dante Stakes at York.

Last season’s champion European two-year-old gave his all – but his Derby dreams were ended as Telecaster took the spoils in the hands of Oisin Murphy for trainer Hughie Morrison.

Too Darn Hot’s stablemate Turgenev set a strong pace and was shadowed by Telecaster, with the pair having the field well stretched out for a long way.

Frankie Dettori had Too Darn Hot settled nicely in fourth and he was produced at the right time to make his challenge, only to find Telecaster (7-1) refusing to buckle in the closing stages as he stuck to his guns to beat the even-money favourite by a length.

Surfman stayed on well for third place, and while Aidan O’Brien suffered a rare reverse in the Classic trials as Japan failed to get in a serious blow, he was not far behind in fourth.

Telecaster was slashed to 5-1 from 20-1 for the Derby, but will have to be supplemented for the Epsom showpiece.

As for Too Darn Hot, his trainer John Gosden was quick to nominate the St James’s Palace Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot as the target for his previously-unbeaten Dubawi colt.

Earlier at York, Lah Ti Dar made hard work of it before ultimately landing the odds in the Middleton Fillies’ Stakes.

The St Leger runner-up was stepping down to a mile and a quarter for the first time in 12 months and the 1-3 shot needed every yard to take the Group Two honours.

Queen Of Time set an honest pace until the straight, where the tempo increased and the race hotted up.

Dettori appeared to be confident enough on Lah Ti Dar – but he had to roust the Gosden-trained filly to see off the persistent challenge of Sir Michael Stoute’s Rawdaa by a neck.

Stoute’s other runner, Sun Maiden, was third after looking menacing two furlongs out.

source: theguardian.com