All geed up for Motivator

And, after a controversial decision to bypass the 2000 Guineas which dismayed thousands of ante-post punters, Bell is convinced the decision to go to York is the right one.

"We missed the Guineas because we want to get his Derby preparation right, but as it turns out he definitely wouldn't have run at Newmarket as the ground was like a road," he said. "The Dante won't be a penalty kick by any means. Proclamation looks a very exciting horse and, as Motivator has a 3lb penalty on Thursday, he has to be more than two lengths better than him and the others to win first time out.

"That said, I couldn't be happier with him and he has had the experience of a gallop round the Derby course this spring. I saddled Housemaster to finish fourth in the Derby in 1999, but I'd be surprised if Motivator doesn't turn out to be better." As ever, York's three-day Dante fixture, which begins on Wednesday, features a series of valuable races which serve as springboards for even bigger contests when the Royal meeting starts at the track next month.

Only time will tell whether the organisers can pull it off, and some of the early signs are cautionary, but Ascot PR spokesman Nick Smith has words of advice for Londoners who are not sure about making the trip.

"Go for it," he said. "It's true that sales for the Royal Enclosure haven't gone as quickly as we hoped, but this is an event that is traditionally southern based and we're talking £200 for suit hire and a badge before you take transport into account.

"Overall, we certainly aren't disappointed with the way things are going. The sheer scale of transferring the meeting and retaining its credibility was always going to be a headache, but the preparations have gone very well and by June there will be room for 56,000 people paying between £4 for local residents in the Rails Enclosure to £75 for the Royal Enclosure."

Early suggestions that hotel space would be hard to find now seem wide of the mark, and Smith feels the chancers who jacked up their prices in the expectation of being swamped by wealthy southern punters are slowly seeing sense.

"I'm glad to say reality has bitten," he said. "The local hotels got a bad press last year because one or two went mad, but 90 per cent are playing ball now."

Messrs Bates, Cowell, Smith and Lloyd Webber are unlikely to be worrying about the costs as their Derby hopeful struts his stuff this week, but talk of Epsom and Royal Ascot for Motivator will start to ring a little hollow if he fails to shine in the Dante.

"It's time to let the horse do the talking," said Bell. "We think he's special and all he has to do now is prove it."

The top attractinos at York's Dante meeting this week...

Somnus: Top sprinter who goes for Wednesday's Duke of York Stakes, but tends to need his first race of the season

Motivator: Unbeaten Derby contender who tests his Epsom credentials under Johnny Murtagh in Thursday's Dante Stakes

Papineau: Landed the Ascot Gold Cup for Godolphin last year but reported to be "rusty" ahead of Friday's Yorkshire Cup