By Wednesday morning the entire British press team had landed in Dallas, and I for one was, as they say in America, fully acclimated.

Dallas had been subjected to even more rainfall overnight, though by the time we left for the track at 6am only puddles remained and the temperature was already soaring into the 70s.

Compared to Tuesday, there was a far greater buzz down the Backstretch at Lone Star and a horde of US and European journalists were hanging around the Quarantine Barn waiting for a sight of the European equine raiders and a chance to chat with their connections.

It is an unavoidable fact of life at the Breeders' Cup that the press have to spend hours waiting around, hoping to grab a few minutes with a trainer or scribble down some quotes from a jockey.

On Wednesday though Aidan O'Brien took pity on the hacks and at 7.30am he emerged from the safety of the Barn to discuss his five-strong team.

Aidan O'Brien, though still a young man, has now trained at the highest level for many years and his confidence when dealing with the press has increased considerably.

Where once he used to approach the media huddle with the expression of a man about to have his teeth removed, he now holds court, speaking confidently and honestly about his horses with a great deal of self deprecation and considerable charm.

Within minutes over 20 hacks had him surrounded as he assessed the chances of his charges. At one stage he was forced to stop mid-sentence as a huge cloud of smoke from one of John McCririck's massive Havana cigars encircled his head to much amusement from the assembled throng.

O'Brien calmly turned to Big Mac, accused him of trying to choke him, and then carried on where he'd left off.

So what was Aidan O'Brien's verdict on his five contenders?

Powerscourt is clearly a horse that he holds in the highest regard and he fully expects it to go very close in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

He was confident that the trip would suit and that he would act on whatever going Lone Star puts in his way.

He said that Yesterday had improved since her encouraging run in France and that her chance would be enhanced by the easier ground.

Antonius Pius is clearly a loony but O'Brien said the horse would be suited by the fast pace and the speedy tight turf track and if everything fell right he had the ability to win the Mile.

He spoke highly of both his juveniles, Scandinavia and Mona Lisa, and given their dirt breedings, he expects them to run respectable races.

All in all, he sounded bullish about the overall prospects for the Ballydoyle five with Powerscourt seemingly his banker.

This however was just a pre-cursor to the main activity of the day, the post-position draw.

As always with Breeders Cup media events, the press were plied with lavish amounts of food before various dignatories praised everybody and anybody associated with the event.

Eventually the serious action started and the draw was made. Ouija Board drew a perfect post in 5 for the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf which starts approximately 50 yards from the bend.

Coral trimmed her to 6-4 from 7-4. Six Perfections drew stall 11 in the Breeders Cup Mile which will suit her running style, while Whipper drew a tricky stall in 1.

Six Perfections is now 4-1 from 9-2, with Whipper remaining at 6-1. Overall the draw proved very kind to the chances of the European runners and it would be extremely disappointing if the 12 strong team failed to land at least one of the six races they will contest.

Ouija Board, Powerscourt and Six Perfections all look to have massive chances on the Turf while Nebraska Tornado and Scandinavia could surprise on the dirt.

With the fields for the eight group 1 races now finalized, the next two days will be spent gleaning any last minute information about the US horses and deciding which horses Coral will side with and which horses we will look to try and lay.

James Knight, my odds compiling colleague, and I will agree on some and disagree on others but historically our track record on the Breeders Cup is a good one.

However, that will count for nothing if we get our fingers burned on Saturday.