DUKE of Marmalade was yesterday hoisted up a rung or two of the nobility ladder when Timeform crowned him the king of turf racing.

According to the highly respected gurus in Halifax, Aidan O'Brien's four-year-old recorded a career-best rating of 133 when landing his fourth Group 1 victory of the season in landing last month's King George.:ccccc:

That was enough to earn him their accolade of the best horse in the world on grass, Ascot runner-up Papal Bull rated just a pound lower. Epsom Derby winner New Approach is languishing a whopping 16 ounces behind the front pair, a position he shares with Duke Of Marmalade's Ballydoyle stablemate Henrythenavigator.

France could be the next port of call for the last named, who has also racked up four Group 1 successes on the bounce, with connections eyeing a tilt at Longchamp's Prix du Moulin on 7 September. "We haven't a target for Henry yet, but it's possible we'll be looking at the Moulin although nothing is confirmed yet," said O'Brien.

Wherever his next outing may be, Henrythenavigator is set to live up to his name by heading much further afield later in the season. California in October for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita is his likeliest destination although he does also hold an entry in Melbourne's Cox Plate on the same day.

Today's action is confined to the more mundane settings of Bath, Haydock, etc, but the latter venue stages some decent sport with plenty of Southern big guns heading north to chase the decent prize money on offer.

The mile handicap boasts runners from the yards of Roger Charlton, Michael Bell, Ed Dunlop, John Gosden, Brian Meehan and even the great Henry Cecil, but they might all end up being denied by Yorkshire-based Stevie Thunder.

Alan Swinbank's gelding has already enjoyed a highly successful campaign and hasn't been out of the first four so far, winning three of his seven starts into the bargain. Which is something he surely was when bought in for just 8,000 guineas after winning a Musselburgh seller on his two-year-old debut last September.

All sorts of going come alike to Stevie Thunder and his recent fourth in a valuable event at Newmarket confirms he's holding his form really well, so he's fancied to see off the boys from the south.

At Brighton, the Scottish-owned Hameildaeme might see some racegoers getting slightly tongue-tied trying to pronounce the name of the Stuart Williams youngster so to avoid any embarrassment, they should just bet Bad Baron instead.

Later on the card, Dove Cottage can again demonstrate his liking for tracks such as Brighton by lifting the £22,000 Challenge Cup. He has already won a couple of times at Goodwood which augurs well for his chances of acting on today's course.

Dove Cottage's form has been pretty consistent of late and while he'll face a big field of 15 rivals, he looks worth the nap.