Dylan Thomas disappoints in final outing
Saturday, 27 October 2007 22:51Dylan Thomas put in a lacklustre show to finish fifth behind impressive winner English Channel in the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Aidan O'Brien's brilliant Arc winner did not look happy on the rain-softened ground and never travelled at any stage for Johnny Murtagh.
However, Todd Pletcher's English Channel was right at home in the conditions and ran out an impressive winner under John Velazquez.
Former French-trained Shamdinan finished second with last year's winner, Brian Meehan's Red Rocks, running a fine race in third under Frankie Dettori.
The eclipse of the Ballydoyle horse continued the losing streak for Arc winners at the Breeders' Cup.
'We always knew that soft ground could be a problem to him,' O'Brien said. 'I thought I had Dylan near his best but he was hating every second of it today.'
Murtagh underlined O'Brien's view when he said: 'It was horrible ground and he's a real grass horse.
'He was losing his footing all the time and could never get competitive.'
Meehan was also disappointed with the ground and said: 'Frankie said when he pulled him to the outside to make his run it was too late.
'He was stuck on the rail where the ground was very bad. Maybe they should have thought about providing some fresh ground today.'
None of that bothered New Jersey resident Pletcher, who finally broke his Breeders' Cup duck with the locally-owned English Channel.
'He's proved himself an outstanding champion and it's great to see him go out on such a high,' Pletcher said.
'But to me it means just as much that he has done it at this track which is so dear to me and only 10 minutes away from the house.'
