York Dante Meeting Day 1 Tips: Mark Milligan with three to back at up to 14/1

• Haggas can win handicap he often targets

• Quirky sprinter can go well at track he likes

• Mark thinks Aidan O'Brien can win his second Musidora Stakes

14:10 York - Back The Reverend @ 16/54.20

William Haggas has won this 1m 4f handicap several times in the past and he fields another likely candidate for honours in the shape of The Reverend.

This lightly-raced type has made only seven career starts and looks the sort who can rate much higher than his current perch of 95 as the season progresses.

A debut winner at the backend of 2023, he finished runner-up to subsequent listed winner Military Academy last season before triumphing on his handicap bow at Ascot in September.

The selection then wasn't seen to best effect on his last two starts of the year, the first of them when not ideally placed at this track on his penultimate outing and then rather marooned towards the far rail in a deep-ground affair at Doncaster on his final start.

There's every chance The Reverand is significantly better than he could show on either of those two runs and the trainer has his team firing on all cylinders currently (32% strike-rate on the last fortnight).

14:42 York - Back Korker E/W @ 14/115.00

Korker can be a frustrating type given his tendency to miss the break, but he generally goes well at York and is probably in better heart than his two runs on the all-weather this season suggest.

Karl Burke's six-year-old sprinter was winless in 2024, but he ran several good races in defeat, including when fourth at this meeting from a mark 4lb higher than he gets to run off this time around.

Throw in the fact that promising apprentice Jack Nicholls takes off an extra 7lb and the selection begins to look very well treated on his best form.

There's obviously plenty that needs to be taken on trust given Korker's quirks, but he hasn't been seen to best effect on both starts so far this term, probably needing the run on his comeback and then hampered when trying to work his way into contention last time.

The return to turf will suit, and with five places available on the Sportsbook, Korker makes plenty of each-way appeal at 14/115.00.

15:45 York - Back Whirl @ 5/23.50

Given his exploits with top three-year-olds, it has to go down as rather surprising that Aidan O'Brien has won the Musidora Stakes only once in his career, but I'm hoping he can double up with Whirl this time around.

The master of Ballydoyle's previous winner of the race was subsequent Oaks heroine Snowfall and he'll be hoping that Whirl can stamp her ticket to Epsom by taking this recognised trial along the way.

The daughter of Wootton Bassett took a couple of runs to find her feet in her juvenile season but she rounded it off well by winning a maiden before going on to take the Group 3 Staffordstown Stakes at the Curragh. Given she took several starts to come to hand as a two-year-old, there's every reason to think that Whirl will step up considerably on her comeback run this season when only sixth back at the Curragh last month.

She does face several promising fillies in here but recent market support in the last few days suggests the selection can improve markedly on that return run as she heads to the Knavesmire.

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