The Storm Cat colt was then third to Vindication in the Grade One Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on dirt at Arlington.

Other possibles for O’Brien, successful with King Of Kings in 1998 and Rock Of Gibraltar last year, include Tomahawk, Statue Of Liberty and Van Nistelrooy.

O’Brien’s team accounts for almost a quarter of the 108 three-year-olds entered for the £320,000 (€469,000) contest over the Rowley Mile.

Godolphin are next numerically with 18 entries. Their best could be Lateen Sails, who was an impressive winner on his only start at Newmarket in October when trained by Henry Cecil.

There is plenty of international interest with entries from France, Germany and Italy.

The Gallic pick is the Criquette Head-Maarek-trained Snipewalk, who was fourth to Italian representative Le Vie Dei Colori, trained by Roberto Brogi, in a Group Three contest at Longchamp in September.

German hopes rest with Ransom O’War – the Erica Mader-trained Red Ransom colt winning at Southwell in November for former handler Mark Johnston.

Other notable entries include the Dermot Weld-trained unbeaten colt Refuse To Bend, the John Gosden-trained Oasis Dream, who won last year’s Shadwell Park Middle Park Stakes and Fulke Johnson Houghton’s Tout Seul, winner of the Newmarket’s Darley Dewhurst Stakes.