FLEETING Spirit could make her seasonal bow in the Duke of York Blue Square Stakes at York Racecourse on Wednesday, May 12, according to trainer Jeremy Noseda.

Last year’s Cartier champion sprinter is among 48 entries for the £100,000 Group 2 contest, which will be staged on the opening day of the Dante Festival.

The five-year-old daughter of Invincible Spirit ran a series of fine races in 2009 and beat a top-class field to land the Group 1 Darley July Cup. She has yet to return to fast work after her winter break but Noseda reports his charge to be in good order.

He said: “Fleeting Spirit is in good shape. We are possibly a little bit behind where I would like to be but she is a sprinter and should come to hand quite quickly when we get going with her. The Duke of York is definitely an option and we will see where we are with her a week before the race.”

Young sprinters Sayif and Showcasing could bid to enhance their respective credentials in the Duke of York Blue Square Stakes.

Sayif, now four, finished a very satisfactory 2009 campaign with victory in the Group 2 Diadem Stakes at Ascot.

Sayif’s trainer, Peter Chapple-Hyam, said: “He isn’t in fast work, but the plan is to head to the Duke of York, which will be the acid test. There will be some good sprinters there and after that we’ll know where we really stand.”

If he lines up, Showcasing, owned by Prince Khalid Abdulla, will receive plenty of weight – being a three-year-old – from his elders as he seeks to climb the sprinting ranks.

The son of Oasis Dream recorded two wins from four starts last term, scoring at York in the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Gimcrack Stakes, as he proved to be one of last season’s fastest two-year-olds.

Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to Prince Khalid Abdulla, said: “Like his father, Showcasing is most probably going to head down the sprinting route rather than be aimed at the Guineas.

“His general build and pedigree point towards him being a sprinter. With that in mind, if he is in good enough form then he will probably take his chance in the Duke of York Stakes.”

Other intriguing entries include Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner Alfred Nobel, course and distance scorer Serious Attitude – success-ful in the Cuisine de France Sum-mer Stakes – and last year’s 2000 Guineas runner-up, Delegator.