Dylan Thomas can deliver

Breeders' Cup Preview:Putting the label "world championships" on a Breeders' Cup that has just nine runners from outside North America seems even more presumptuous than usual for America's most valuable race day but there will be little arguing with a world-champion tag if Dylan Thomas successfully brings the curtain down on his career at Monmouth Park tonight.

Any idea that the five Irish and four British-trained runners are anything but an afterthought tonight in what is essentially a home show were banished this week when the Breeders' Cup authorities poured a lot of cold water on the idea of the races taking place anywhere else but America.

Combined with valuable incentives being provided by other authorities in Hong Kong, Japan and Dubai, it means the Breeders' Cup is no longer the international "holy grail" it once seemed, something the French appear to have twigged ahead of everyone else. This year there will be no French runner for the first time in a decade.

Not for the first time then, it is the Aidan O'Brien team of four runners who are the focus of European interest, although John Oxx's Timarwa joins All My Loving in a long-shot look at the Filly & Mare Turf.

Excellent Art has the form to be a worthy favourite for the Mile if he can overcome a nightmare outside draw, while George Washington is an intriguing runner in a second consecutive Classic on dirt as his chance has been significantly talked up by Aidan O'Brien and Michael Kinane this week.

However, there's no doubt Dylan Thomas is Ireland's and Europe's number one. Some great names have failed to bring off the Arc de Triomphe-Breeders' Cup Turf double, horses even better than Dylan Thomas, such as Dancing Brave. But it will be a major shock if the O'Brien star doesn't go to stud on the back of a fifth Group One victory of the season.

That is partly because of less than intimidating opposition and also because Dylan Thomas appears to be the sort of unusually tough customer that can thrive here.

"He's a very unusual horse, amazing really. Every race he has he bounces out of it better than he was before. He has run in Group Ones every month this season and he has turned into the ultimate professional. We've never had a horse like this fellow," is O'Brien's verdict.

In contrast, the champion trainer cheerfully acknowledges that there's no pressure surrounding George Washington's second attempt on the Classic but it's not giddiness that seems to be provoking real hope that the enigmatic former stallion could beat the cream of America's dirt performers this time.

A sixth to Invasor last year on the back of a long campaign is being contrasted with a light season now and the long-held belief of Kinane that he was unlucky 12 months ago.

"I thought he ran a hell of a race. If I hadn't got interference turning for home I would have been right on top of them. I know the three-year-olds in America are good but whether they're as good as Invasor I don't know," says the veteran rider. "I don't think races come much stronger than last year's Classic and a similar run will put him right in the shake-up."

As well as the implications of a tight course, and a track history that seems to favour front-running speed, the complexities of working out the permutations of synthetic form versus traditional dirt only add to tonight's difficulty.

Overall, Lawyer Ron looks probably the safest option in the Classic while the Keeneland Futurity runner-up Slew's Tiznow has a big chance at a big price in the Juvenile.

Excellent Art, however, looks one to oppose at the odds since a 13 of 14 draw in the Mile, with only a short run to the first bend, is something to be very wary of.

Sentiment is also something to avoid at championship level but it's not just that which appears to give Henry Cecil a first-rate chance of winning the Filly & Mare with Passage Of Time.

The main home hope, Nashoba's Key, has never raced outside California and the recent rain in New Jersey will be ideal for Passage Of Time whose return to action in the Prix Vermeille was full of encouragement. It's just her fourth start of the year tonight and she's been targeted at this.

Along with Dylan Thomas, it could mean the perfect Anglo-Irish double.