Aidan O'Brien said beaten Vase favourite Dylan Thomas was the victim of a huge appetite and an iron constitution, and admitted last night the top-rated active horse in the world was short on fitness going into yesterday's assignment as an odds-on favourite.
The champion Irish trainer said the time Dylan Thomas spent in the Shirai quarantine station in Japan, unable to work on a proper race track, had proved to be his downfall.
'He's such a gross horse that while we were trying to sort out the issues with Japan's quarantine people, the horse was just putting on weight,' O'Brien said. 'We realised when he got here that we had to chase him along to get him back to where he needed to be, but we were up against it. We tried, but it didn't work out.'
Dylan Thomas ultimately laboured home in seventh place, beaten just under five lengths, though he should have finished a fraction closer, with winner Doctor Dino causing him to be checked for a clear run in the home straight.
O'Brien said Dylan Thomas, a six-time Group One winner and European Horse of the Year, would now be retired to stud.