Aidan O'Brien might have been battling the barricades in Paris but it was all silky-smooth back at Leopardstown as Dylan Thomas propelled himself to the forefront of the Derby betting with a battling display in the Derrinstown Trial.
Two of the champion trainer's four previous winners of the Group Two race, Galileo and High Chaparral, went on to win at Epsom and the bookmakers were taking no chances with Dylan Thomas who is now as low as 8 to 1 for next month's blue riband.
A length-and-a-half defeat of his stable companion Mountain, with the Catterick winner Youmzin just a short head further back in third, might not have the form students getting into a tizzy and being a half-brother to the champion sprinter Queens Logic will hardly be a plus point for the pedigree experts. However, there was still plenty to like about the display.
George Washington apart, most of O'Brien's three-year-old colts have improved significantly for their first start of the season and speaking from Longchamp, the trainer was predicting significant improvement to come.
"He is in the Derby and we will have to have a good look at it after that," said O'Brien. "We can't be sure about the mile and a half but he should come on a good bit for the run."
Seamus Heffernan had Dylan Thomas disputing the lead throughout, along with his other stable companion Altius and the favourite Heliostatic, and there was no disputing the relish with which the colt knuckled down in the straight. In contrast Heliostatic dropped out to last and Jim Bolger reported: "He seems to be okay but he ran no race."
Heffernan's post-race report that Dylan Thomas was "having a good blow" makes the time, which was over two seconds faster than the earlier maiden, more meritorious and made even more sense of the ante-post move earlier in the week which saw the horse cut from as high as 50 to 1.
With Kieren Fallon at Longchamp, Heffernan made the most of his opportunity and also landed the Group Three 1,000 Guineas Trial on the O'Brien-trained favourite Queen Cleopatra. The daughter of the 2000 Moyglare heroine Sequoyah kicked early in the straight and Modeeroch never quite looked like overhauling her. It was enough for the sponsors to make Queen Cleopatra a 6 to 1 shot for the Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning had better luck in the mile-and-a-half handicap with the topweight Good Surprise who could try and double up in a Premier Handicap at the Curragh over the Guineas weekend.
There was some unusual consolation for the West Ham team just 24 hours after their FA Cup Final defeat as Hammers Boy landed the opening maiden under jockey Wayne Lordan. Six of the West Ham team are part of the syndicate that owns the colt and the winger, Matthew Etherington, was present yesterday to welcome Hammers Boy home.
• Grey Swallow will return to Belmont Park next month after getting his American expedition off to a winning start in Los Angeles on Saturday. The 2004 Irish Derby hero landed the Grade Two Jim Murray Handicap at Hollywood Park by five lengths and Dermot Weld's son, Kris, confirmed the Grade One Manhattan Handicap over 10 furlongs at Belmont next month will be the horse's next start.
