HARRY ANGEL, horse racing’s top six-furlong star, will make his annual bow when the Dante Festival gets under way at York Racecourse tomorrow.

The Clive Cox-trained colt won the Darley July Cup at Newmarket and the Sprint Cup at Haydock in a glittering 2017 campaign which led to him being ranked as the leading sprinter in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, while also winning the 2017 Cartier Sprinter award.

He will look to continue that form in the Duke of York Clipper Logistics Stakes tomorrow, on the opening day of the season on Knavesmire.

Jockey Adam Kirby resumes his partnership on the Godolphin-owned colt as part of a select field of seven for the six-furlong Group 2 worth £125,000.

Harry Angel, who starts his four-year-old season rated 125, will carry a 5lb penalty for his past success at Group 1 level.

Lambourn-based Cox said: “We are looking forward to bringing him to York.

“We had a tricky spring and I think it’s fair to say this is a starting point. So I’d be pleased when he has got his first run under his belt.

“But he is in good nick and the yard is going well at the moment.

“He has done very well over the winter. He is turning up with a penalty because of his Group 1 success last year but I am very happy with him.

“He is a once-in-a-lifetime horse. He makes the heart race on every occasion you see him on the racetrack.

“It’s a dream to have a top-flight horse. Last year he was the highest-rated six-furlong horse in the world. That’s an amazing accolade and I’m very proud to be in charge of him.”

William Derby, chief executive and clerk of the course at York, gave the going as "good, good to firm in places" on Monday morning.

Cox added: “William does a wonderful job with the ground, so we are pretty relaxed in that respect. This horse has proven very versatile on all sorts of ground.”

The Dante Festival at York runs from tomorrow to Friday, with tomorrow's first race of seven starting at 2.20pm.