ALL eyes today will be on last year's Irish Derby and Champion Stakes winner Dylan Thomas when he makes his seasonal reappearance in the Ascon Rohcon Alleged Stakes at the Curragh. Seamus Heffernan's mount looks a class above his rivals and it will be a big surprise if he is beaten.

The Jim Bolger-trained Heliostatic is the obvious danger. Expectations were high at the start of last season that he could develop into an English Derby contender but the best he managed was a Group 3 success in the Meld Stakes.

Trainer Aidan O'Brien's hopes in the Group 3 Castlemartin & La Louviere Gladness Stakes are carried by last year's French 2,000 Guineas runner-up Marcus Andronicus. He should face a challenge from Mustameet, who won the 2005 renewal of this race and was second in it last year. Mustameet really blossomed in Group company last season but under the conditions of this race he has to carry a 6lb penalty for those Group successes, and that sways the vote in favour of Marcus Andronicus.

The Danehill colt's stablecompanions Honoured Guest and Trinity College line-out for the Verglas Loughbrown Stakes. Recent scorer Honoured Guest was slightly hampered early in the straight when winning at Limerick and seems to be improving, but Little White Lie, from the Ger Lyons stable, is marginally preferred.

The concluding Peter Byrne Race over two miles sees the return of Jessica Harrington's Champion Hurdle hope Macs Joy. The gelding missed his engagement at Cheltenham due to a pulled muscle but takes in this race en route to the Punchestown Festival, where he will be hoping to retain his Punchestown Champion Hurdle crown.

Macs Joy is likely to need the run after his enforced absence and the Dermot Weld-trained Moon Mix may prove a better proposition.

Racing also takes place at Tramore where Gerry Cully's Arc En Ciel holds most appeal in the Waterford & Tramore Directors Chase.