Pine Dance will bypass the $2 million Japan Dirt Cup in favour of a Grade Two race at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, where he is currently based.

Dermot Weld confirmed yesterday that the $400,000 Clark Handicap in 14 days time will be Pine Dance's last start of a busy season which has seen the colt win twice already in the US.

"I fear the mile and two and a half furlongs of the Japanese race may be a little too far for him and it's nice that he's already at Churchill Downs," Weld said.

Pine Dance's last start was a 10th position in last weekend's Breeders' Cup Classic where he was ridden by Pat Smullen. The newly-crowned Irish champion jockey returns tonight from riding in Dubai and will be able to tell Weld if he can travel to ride Pine Dance in a fortnight.

"If he can't, we would hope to get someone like Pat Day for the horse," added Weld, who will be three-handed in Sunday's Knockaire Stakes at Leopardstown which winds up the 2000 flat season.

Major Force, Tiger Royal and Free To Speak are his intended runners while the two year old Vinnie Roe, owned by film director Jim Sheridan, will be Weld's representative in the Eyrefield Stakes.

This weekend will see the return of racing action in Ireland after the severe disruption caused by the bad weather. No problems are expected at either Leopardstown on Sunday or Naas tomorrow where last season's top bumper horse Ned Kelly could make his hurdling debut.

The meeting originally scheduled for Cork on Sunday but which was called off early this week will now be run off on Sunday week, November 19th.