Cape Blanco delivered Aidan O'Brien's fourth success in the race

Cape Blanco has been slashed to 4-1 second favourite for next month's Derby after the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt's success in the Dante Stakes at York.

Sent off at a rather generous 9-2 on the back of an unbeaten juvenile campaign, Johnny Murtagh's mount won by three-and-a-quarter lengths.

Workforce, who stays 8-1 for the Derby, finished second and Coordinated Cut, who has drifted to 16-1, was third.

Cape Blanco's stablemate St Nicholas Abbey is now the 2-1 Derby favourite.

Murtagh said: "They are all trials, we're trying to find out about these horses. He had good form as a two-year-old and is a very nice horse.

"They went a good gallop, it was a properly run race. He runs a bit lazy when you get him off the bridle but when you do ask him he really responds well.

606: DEBATE Considering the poor form O'Brien horses have been in, that must be performance of the season so far Lovely_Geezer

"He's quite tenacious and very brave. He's a big player this lad."

Chabal, who has been eased from 10-1 to 25-1 for British horse racing's most prestigious outing, left his rider Frankie Dettori bitterly disappointed after finishing fourth.

"I can't put my finger on it. He was beaten four [furlongs] out. A good horse like that can't be that far wrong," he said.

"They are animals and you never know what they actually feel or if something hurts.

"We are going to take him home and have a look at him. It's very disappointing as we thought we had a Derby horse. It was too bad to be true."

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