Expert Dancer

Trained by Andrew Slattery out of Thurles in County Tipperary, Expert Dancer is part of a yard that clearly knows what it is doing. Slattery's team has sent out 60 winners already this season — that is a serious volume of success and a sign that horses leaving this stable are well-prepared and race-ready. Expert Dancer raced just yesterday, which tells you this is an active, fit horse in the middle of its campaign rather than one being freshened up between runs.

The question now is simple: when does the breakthrough come? Finishing third in three consecutive races suggests Expert Dancer is knocking on the door rather than just filling out a field, and with a trainer who has been winning at this kind of rate behind it, the tools are clearly there. Whether the next race finally provides the right opportunity — perhaps softer competition, a track that suits a little better — is the thing worth watching. At 3 years old, there is still plenty of time for this horse to turn those near-misses into something more.