Rumours continue to circulate about Mick Kinane's position within the Ballydoyle team, but O'Brien denied that a switch of rider on Hold That Tiger signals an erosion in his stable jockey's position.
He said: "Mick is an absolutely worldclass jockey in my opinion and I don't know where you would find a better rider than him."
The answer, it seems, is in Peru. Edgar Prado has been booked to ride Hold That Tiger, who will need to better anything he has shown so far this season in order to worry the best of the US team.
Weld is concerned that the current heatwave in California could work against the European horses but warns against underestimating his Mile contender Refuse To Bend as well as Dimitrova and Relaxed Gesture.
