The American jockey Gary Stevens has four opportunities to familiarise himself with the Curragh this afternoon as he prepares for his Irish Derby date with Beat All.

An undoubted superstar of the game in the United States, overall Stevens has been impressive since becoming stable jockey to Sir Michael Stoute, as much for his diplomatic skills as his riding. That diplomacy was needed during the run up to Stevens's initial rite of passage at Epsom when he was inundated with media questions about how he would cope with the unique track.

He carried that off with some aplomb, quite rightly insisting that every new track was a test for him. Stevens should be in no doubt that the Curragh can hold just as many traps for the unwary and he will have to be on his guard this weekend.

As "acclimatisors" go, Stevens has picked a couple of high pressure rides to open his career in Ireland.

Godolphin's Calando has a clear chance in this afternoon's featured Group Two Independent Pretty Polly Stakes and the ?????????Stoutetrained stayer Maridpour should be hard to beat in the Group Three IAWS Curragh Cup.

The Pretty Polly features a retrieval mission by Sunspangled who had been heavily touted as a potential Oaks winner but who has been unsighted in three classics to date this term.

Excuses for her have included a lack of pace, a fast ground and, at Epsom last time, an inability to cope with the track. However there are only so many times a horse can be excused and Sunpangled, whose appearance depends on overnight rain, at no stage looked like playing a hand in the Oaks.

She also has a Group One penalty to give away and considering Calando was only a neck behind her at Ascot last September, the ratings give her the clear edge.

The daughter of the dual-Oaks winner Dimenuendo disappointed in the French Oaks last time but previously proved her class with a third in the French 1,000 Guineas. A host of home-trained fillies come out much the same on the book, including Orange Sunset who is now with Dermot Weld, but Calando should still have an edge.

Maridpour, third to Arctic Owl at Sandown and last year's Queens Vase winner, travels well through his races and likes decent ground, factors which can allow him to get the better of Campo Catino and Risk Material.

Dermot Weld loves to do well at the classic meetings and the progressive Tipperary winner La Serina can be fancied in the seven furlong handicap, as can Weld's Zilio who absolutely hacked up in an admittedly poor race at Clonmel.