DANCES WITH STARS looks a very solid proposition in the mile and a half maiden at 2.40 and I make him my banker of the day.
Joseph O'Brien's charge made his debut at Limerick in a maiden at the end of June and the form worked out well.
We didn't see him again until just the other week and he only found the 80-rated Eagle's Flight too good.
He had a wide draw, had a slow start and was trapped wide so I think you can upgrade the run and, for me, the most encouraging aspect of this race is the step up in trip. I think it'll really suit and bring about improvement.
Despite another wide draw in stall 14, his main market rivals are also drawn wide and in maiden company around here it's not too hard to overcome.
Irish Poseidon did us a favour last week and he's potentially well handicapped under a 6lb penalty later on in division one of the mile and a half handicap (3.15), but he's opposable in this stronger event as he looks to back up quickly.
There are some solid yardsticks against him, but I'm interested in BELGOPRINCE at a big price.
When trained in France he won over a mile and a quarter, then he switched to Tony Martin and his form over hurdles has only been fine (though he did catch the stewards' eye on one occasion).
He caught my eye last time here too over the extended 10 furlongs and he's interesting back up in trip with champion jockey Colin Keane coming in for the ride.
It's a deep race and he's drawn in stall 17 but he's value at the odds with a few firms paying on the first four in this race.
In the 4.45 Let Me Pass is a worthy favourite following a good run over an inadequate trip. But keep an eye out for Catena Zapata.
We put him up first time out following a good trial at the track in September and he had a horrible trip, never really getting a chance to finish off.
He's up in distance and is well worth keeping an eye on, though I'll hang fire in terms of a bet on this occasion.
Posted at 0930 GMT on 16/12/20
