Workforce has offered Stoute encouragement ahead of Dante

The son of a Barbados police chief, he left the West Indies in 1964 at the age of 19 to became an assistant to Yorkshire trainer Pat Rohan before taking out his own licence eight years later.

He knows that the Totesport Dante Stakes – today's big race feature at York, where Stoute saddles the unbeaten Workforce – is the key trial for next month's Epsom Derby, Flat racing's blue riband contest.

Of the nine horses who have won both races, two have been trained by Stoute – Sharastani in 1986 and the Kieren Fallon-inspired North Light in 2004.

This explains why Workforce has been heavily backed for today's six-runner contest, even though he has only previously had one racecourse outing when recording a six-length victory in a Goodwood maiden last September.

This year's Derby is wide open following the shock defeat of

St Nicholas Abbey in the 2000 Guineas last week, and Stoute has an enviable record at York where he has won the Dante on five occasions.

Stoute, who is an enduring friend of the legendary umpire Dickie Bird and relaxes by following cricket, expects his horse to come on for today's run – and become one of his stable's standardbearers.

"We are keen to get Workforce's season started. He is not spectacular at home, but he has been giving us more encouragement of late," said Stoute yesterday,

"He is a big horse and first time up we would not want ground that is too fast.

"It's time for him to have an outing and I'm looking forward to seeing him run.

"He's a big talking horse – he won his maiden well – and it's early days in his career."

This view is shared by big race jockey Ryan Moore who was in the saddle two years ago when Tartan Bearer landed the Dante for Stoute before suffering a narrow defeat in the Derby.

Moore, the reigning champion jockey, takes a pragmatic stance, rather than becoming caught up with the hyperbole surrounding the three-year-old colt who is owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah

"He's been hyped up by the media, really, everyone's saying he's a good horse," said Moore after landing York's opener yesterday aboard the aptly-named Imposing.

"I don't know if it's from stable lads or not but it hasn't come from me or the trainer, so some people have made it up.

"It'll be nice to get him out and have a look at him and see what we've got.

"I've not ridden him much in the winter, just the last few times over the last couple of weeks.

"We'll see how we go with him. He's been working fine but we haven't really got stuck into him yet. He's second favourite just by the fact that nothing else has come out and been impressive.

"He's a nice type of horse. He is a bit big, but that's the way he's made."

A horse on the upgrade is Coordinated Cut, trained by Michael Bell, who put a poor run behind him in last October's Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster when landing the Tattersalls Timeform 3-Y-O Trophy at Newmarket last month.

"There's only six runners, but it's a select field and any one of the six would have a good chance, but we're happy with our guy," said his jockey Jamie Spencer.

"He won well at Newmarket after being hampered in the Sales race. He's only had the three starts.

"As long as conditions are there to suit us and we get some nice ground, we'd be very hopeful to see where we stand as far as the Derby is concerned."

That might be bad news for supporters of the unbeaten Cape Blanco, the entry of top Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien who won the Dante 12 months ago with Black Bear Island.

The son of Galileo is twice a Pattern-race scorer and looked impressive when landing the Futurity Stakes at Fairyhouse last August.

Yet to go beyond seven furlongs, O'Brien is in the dark about how far Cape Blanco will stay the 10-furlong trip around Knavesmire.

"He is a low-moving horse and you wonder how far he will stay," said the Ballydoyle handler.

"There doesn't look to be a lot of pace in the Dante and we don't have a pacemaker in it.

"I would love to have something in there to go on and make the running but we don't."