A day after Benvenuto Cellini and Amelia Earhart stamped themselves as Derby and Oaks favourites, it's now the turn of stablemate Constitution River to have his classic credentials tested at Chester on Thursday.

By Wootton Bassett, Constitution River had three starts as a juvenile. He was beaten by a short-head on his debut at Newmarket behind subsequent star Distant Storm. Then he won a Galway Festival maiden easily, followed by a similarly impressive success in the Group 2 Futurity Stakes at the Curragh.

On Thursday he reappears in the 10-furlong Listed Dee Stakes, a race his trainer Aidan O’Brien has won 12 times in the past, including each of the last four runnings and seven of the last eight.

O'Brien is also represented in this year's race by Flushing Meadows, twice Group 3-placed last season but well beaten on his first start this year in a Group 3 at Leopardstown.

The trainer said of Constitution River: “We think he is a very good horse. He hasn’t run this year and we view him as probably a French Derby horse."

William Haggas runs Morshdi in the Dee Stakes. Having rounded off his juvenile year with victory at York, trhe Dubawi colt made a successful reappearance in Newmarket’s Feilden Stakes last month, after which his trainer said “all year I have been saying Chester – he will love it round there.

“I think Chester will suit him and he’s got a nice draw (stall one), but the obvious one is Aidan’s, who is a Group 2 winner with no penalty and we’ve only won a listed race and we have a penalty.

“That is going to make it tough, but he needs to run and that is where we want to run him, so off we go.”

While Morshdi is entered in the Betfred Derby at Epsom, Haggas concedes there might be a stamina question about the premier classic.

He added: “I’m not sure about a mile and a half.

“Although the full-sister (Nakheel) won the Park Hill over a mile and six, I’m not convinced he’s an out-and-out stayer – he’s got a bit of speed, so we’ll see.”

Karl Burke runs both Golden Story and Shayem, with Generic from Andrew Balding’s yard completing the line-up.

Thursday's card also features the Group 3 Ladbrokes Ormonde Stakes over 13 furlongs for older horses. O'Brien runs multiple Group 1 winner Jan Brueghel and last year's winner Illinois, while Joseph O'Brien sends over his Saudi Arabian winner Sons And Lovers.