Sakhee and Pawn Broker are set to renew rivalry in Wednesday's JWE Telecom plc Dante Stakes at York.

The colts were among 12 horses who stood their ground at the confirmation stage for the Group Two contest. The pair met in the Thresher Classic Trial at Sandown last month when Pawn Broker was sent off 6-4 favourite having won the John Mowlem Feilden Stakes at Newmarket on his previous outing.

But David Elsworth's charge could not get past Sakhee who made all the running under Richard Hills to win by a length.

Marcus Hosgood, racing secretary to Sakhee's trainer John Dunlop, confirmed the son of Bahri on target for the Dante.

He said: "He's fine. I'd like to think he's improving but we'll find out on Wednesday."

The going was heavy when he defeated Pawn Broker but the prospect of quicker ground is not a major concern.

"When he won for the first time the ground was pretty fast," Hosgood added. Hills is set to take the mount at Knavesmire.

A small but select field is expected for the £145,000 contest with Aidan O'Brien leaving five horses in the race.

Of the quintet Apollo Victoria is declared at Lingfield today, Bach and Bashkir are engaged to run at Leopardstown tomorrow, while Ciro is in the Prix Lupin line-up at Longchamp also tomorrow, apparently leaving Royal Kingdom as his most likely representative at this stage.

Godolphin also have a choice of entries with Best Of The Bests, winner of the Solario Stakes for Clive Brittain last season, and Roscius.

Run over an extended 10 furlongs, the Dante is regarded as the leading trial for the Vodafone Derby and was won by subsequent Epsom heroes Erhaab (1994) and Benny The Dip (1997) in recent years.

The 12 acceptors are: Apollo Victoria, Bach, Bashkir, Best Of The Bests, Ciro, Fast Track, Pawn Broker, Roscius, Royal Kingdom, Sakhee, Shaibani and Shamrock City.

Sinon can break duck

Hard-to-train Sinon has been given the all-clear to bid to break Mark Johnston's duck in the Merewood Homes Yorkshire Cup on Thursday.

Injury problems have plagued the five-year-old, who has been restricted to just seven outings in his career to date, and he has suffered two further minor setbacks this spring.

But the gelding returned from nearly a year and a half out of action last autumn and went on to win a Listed race in France.

And he will step up to Group Three class at York in one of the few big staying races to have eluded his North Yorkshire-based trainer, who has won virtually all the other top long-distance prizes in Britain.

"We have had a lot of niggly problems with Sinon but he will run on Thursday," Johnston said, at his Middleham base.

A field of 10 have been confirmed for the mile-and-three-quarter contest, including last year's first and second Churlish Charm and Largesse, Godolphin's Kayf Tara and Sea Wave, plus 1997 winner Celeric.

Pipalong, trained by Great Habton's Tim Easterby, will bid to follow up her Palace House Stakes win in the Duke Of York Stakes, whose 16 entries also include Godolphin's Bertolini and Lend A Hand plus Sagitta 2000 Guineas seventh Primo Valentino.

Ground conditions are getting firmer at York ahead of this week's big meeting, but clerk of the course John Smith has ruled out watering the track.

"It is drying out and I have changed the official going to good to firm," he said. "We definitely won't water as the forecast is for showers."