Michael,

re O'brien's 2 year olds - here they have been getting too much respect all year. with the mid-summer virus and all that he has not had good 2-year old results. van nistelrooy has been hype galore from the word go - any self respecting bookie has been wanting to lay him. he has been beaten favorite last two starts (admittedly poor ride in last one)- he's good, not great. jo'burg was unbeaten last year remember. As I said hold that tiger looked great in winning and for me he would be the best one on that. however in the post race interview tabor talked about next year's 2000 guineas and the fact that he was not sure he would stay a mile ("we will try and drop him back if he does not stay"). you get a colt that is stepping up 2 furlongs and trying dirt for the first time. I don't know the US bunch so I'm flying blind, but I would need a nice price to back them - maybe they will be a price, but last year may skew people's thinking too much.