Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Prince of Dance gets back on turf at realistic level

Belmont at the Big A | Race 9 | Post Time 5:20 p.m. (ET)

This conditioned claiming finale looks pretty wide open, lacking a clear favorite. My Life Story (#4) has been pretty popular with the bettors over the course of his career, and figures to take money again with Flavien Prat getting back aboard. I do like him turning back in distance, but he's settled for minor awards a bit too often for my liking.

Nano Man (#1) and Korrongo (#8) faced off in a similar spot on Sep. 19, where they finished second and third, respectively. Korrongo was arguably a little unlucky as he lacked a clear path in upper stretch and lost some momentum before diving inside in the last eighth. I slightly prefer him now that he's drawn outside with speed. There doesn’t appear to be an abundance of pace in this race, and both of these runners should sit good trips up close to the pace.

My top pick is the lightly raced Prince of Dance (#5), who has only tried turf one other time in his career. That lone grass attempt was going a two-turn mile, which he handles now, but may have been a bit far for him in just the second start of his career. He faded to fifth behind the talented Annexperience, but only lost second by just over a length after chasing two wide. It wasn't a bad effort, suggesting that he does handle the grass. That 97 TimeformUS Speed Figure makes him competitive against this group. He's certainly bred for this surface as a son of War Dancer. I don't mind him turning back in distance given the tactical speed he's displayed, and this is probably the right level for him to return to turf.